Ladies Strong Dina Boels Belgian U23 champion

"I knew I had to keep pushing in the sprint and that I would be close to a win," said a happy Dina Boels afterwards. Boels sprinted among the pros– since the categories race together– to a sixth-place finish and, with that strong result in the overall top ten, she crowned herself the U23 winner. "This is a big morale boost for us. The whole team gave everything today. We worked really hard for this, so it’s great that I was able to finish it off. I had actually set my sights on that tricolore jersey, so I’m especially happy."

Audrey De Keersmaeker lit up the breakaway of the day and was one of the strongest riders in the race. The group with De Keersmaeker was only caught four kilometers from the finish. "I felt really strong today," De Keersmaeker said afterwards. "I truly believed we could stay ahead, so I kept the pace high throughout. I think people underestimate my sprint a bit, so I really wanted to play that card. Unfortunately, the cooperation in the group began to falter after a while. I launched one more attack near the end, but it didn’t work out. It’s a pity I didn’t get a result after such a strong day, because I really felt good. But it’s still a big boost that we’re going home with a jersey thanks to Dina."