Ladies Anna Van Wersch sprints to a strong fifth place in Dwars door de Westhoek

Anna Van Wersch is in great form. After taking victory in Puurs-Sint-Amands last week, she was determined to build on that momentum, and she proved it once again this afternoon with a strong fifth-place finish in the women’s classic Dwars door de Westhoek. “It was an extremely fast race,” she explained. “In the first major loop, around 84 kilometres from the finish, an attack went clear and I immediately managed to join it. From that point on, the race completely exploded. The pace was relentless and attacks came one after another. Eventually, we formed a leading group of 13 riders, including a strong SD Worx contingent with four riders and AG Insurance with three. I was the only rider from my team in the group, so I tried to ride as economically as possible.”

Behind them, the peloton attempted to close the gap, but never came closer than one minute. The thirteen riders at the front were then able to battle for victory during the final two local laps. “In the final lap, the long-awaited attacks started and it was really tough because, being on my own, I had to respond to everything. In the end, I managed to position myself perfectly for the final corner, 500 metres from the finish, which allowed me to sprint to a very nice fifth place. I’m really very happy to show what I’m capable of in this way.”

Picture: PhotoNews