Ladies Lotto Ladies ready for Baloise Ladies Tour: “Building on that positive feeling”

From 16 to 20 July 2025, the women’s peloton will be racing through the Low Countries. The five-day stage race opens with an explosive prologue in the Netherlands and then heads into Belgium. With a finish at De Wandelaar in Knokke-Heist, a passage through the Flemish Ardennes, and a double stage day, the route promises to be varied.

After a strong performance in the GP CHW Beveren, where Katrijn De Clercq and Anna Van Wersch claimed first and second place, the team approaches the Baloise Ladies Tour with great confidence. For Van Wersch, that result was a real boost: “I’m happy I finally got to show what I’m capable of. Over the past months I’ve worked incredibly hard and felt strong in training and races, but I just couldn’t turn that into results,” she says. “Being on the podium really felt like a reward.”

The team as a whole also looks stronger than ever. “We really performed as one team,” she says. “That’s what we’ve been working towards all season, but it didn’t always come together the way we wanted. This time, everyone delivered, and that gives us a lot of confidence for the Baloise Ladies Tour. We want to carry that positive feeling forward and truly believe we can achieve something beautiful together.”

Audrey De Keersmaeker, Lea Lin Teutenberg, Sterre Vervloet and Dina Boels complete the line-up. Van Wersch is eager to see what Dina can deliver in the prologue: “She’s been riding really strongly lately. I truly believe she’s capable of a good result.” Dina herself is also looking forward to the opener. “Last year’s prologue in Poland went quite well, so I hope I can do something similar this year,” she says. “But with such a short effort (3.1 kilometres) it’s always a bit unpredictable. The time gaps will be small. For the rest of the Baloise Ladies Tour, I’ll mainly focus on positioning our sprinters as well as possible.”

She’s referring in part to Katrijn De Clercq, who looks ahead with ambition: “I hope to mix it up in the sprint with world-class riders like Charlotte Kool, Clara Copponi and Marta Lach. The stage in Zulte appeals to me most. If I’m in good shape, and it looks like I a, then I should be able to handle it.”

Photo: Brecht Steenhouwer