Lorena Wiebes skips the sprint and wins GP Oetingen after late attack

Lorena Wiebes won the GP Oetingen for the third time in her career. And she did it in a special way. The Dutch champion didn’t wait for the sprint but broke away together with Floor Meurs in the final and beat the Belgian in a two-rider sprint.

The start of the GP Oetingen was for the second consecutive time in the neighboring town of Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, with the finish as usual in… Oetingen. The final circuit, which had to be completed five times, was twelve kilometers long and included two cobbled sections as well as the Zavelberg (0.6 km at 6.5%). The top of this climb was less than three kilometers from the finish, offering opportunities for a late attack. Nevertheless, a sprinter was the top favorite: Lorena Wiebes.

We didn’t see an early breakaway in this edition of the GP Oetingen. The peloton stayed together until around sixty kilometers, when echelons formed. The group split into several parts, but those who had missed the move quickly managed to get back on track.

Wiebes attacks!
In the finale, the pace remained high, gradually thinning out the peloton. Meanwhile, Cleo Kiekens (Citymesh - Customm) tried to escape solo, but she couldn’t hold off the chasing pack alone. Then Anneke Dijkstra (VolkerWessels) and Marta Lach (SD Worx-Protime) decided to try with two riders. However, they also failed to stay ahead.

Heading for a bunch sprint then? It seemed so, but the Zavelberg still had to be tackled. After that, we saw an acceleration from… Lorena Wiebes. The Dutch champion didn’t wait for the sprint and chose to attack. She couldn’t break away alone, though, as Fleur Moors managed to latch on. It turned into a sprint after all, but a two-rider sprint.