© Brent Peeters / Zoe Soulard
Cycling: elite women’s GP de Chambéry
“Longer and tougher competitions suit me much better than short and explosive work,” said Lore De Schepper (18) last week after the Brabantse Pijl. And look, just a few days later, last Sunday, she won in Chambéry, France. “It confirms my good level.”
“Three laps before the end, I went on a climb together with some other riders in pursuit of the leader,” De Schepper tells her story. “And before I fully realized it, I was alone on the descent towards the leader of the race. However, I am not a specialist in descending. Always careful, but apparently I now had the right line.”
Not much later and more than forty kilometers before the finish, the rider from Rijmenam herself was in pole position. “Because I knew on which parts of the course the peloton kept coming to a standstill, it was clear where I could save time. On the climbs I always stood straight on the pedals to keep the pace high there too, which meant that the lead was always between thirty and fifty seconds. In the end I still had sixteen seconds left over Evita Muzic and Erica Magnaldi at the finish.”
© Brent Peeters
The 18-year-old rider from AG Insurance-Soudal remains modest after this great victory. “Of course this means a lot to me. It confirms my good level, although I also know that the real toppers were in the Amstel Gold Race. Yet you still have to do it.”
It was De Schepper’s first victory among the elites and yet she was not ready for her test piece in Chambery. “I also won there as a junior, so I was at the start with the necessary confidence. But I didn’t dare dream of this achievement in advance. Now there will be a short break before resuming next week in the Czech Republic. In a serving role, I suppose, something I have absolutely no problem with.”
#Lore #Schepper #wins #competition #among #pros #soloing #means #lot #Bonheiden
– 2024-04-16 06:47:02
