Four races, four winners from four different teams: the UCI Women's WorldTour is full of variety this season after Lotta Lepistö (Cervelo-Bigla Pro Cycling Team) beat Jolien D'Hoore (Wiggle High5) in a true Photo Finish at Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields on Sunday. The 27-year-old Fin, third at the UCI World Championships in Qatar last October, timed her sprint perfectly and took her second victory within four days after winning Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday.
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Winner of the Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Comune di Cittiglio, Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb), sprinted to third place in Wevelgem at the first big clash of the fastest women in the world. In 42nd place, Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5) did not collect any UCIWWT points, but holds on to the lead by five points over fellow Italian Elena Cecchini (Canyon SRAM Racing). Rivera moves into third place, only 15 points down. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Cervelo-Bigla Pro Cycling Team) remains leader of the young rider classification.
Meanwhile, round 2 of the UCI Women Junior Nations' Cup, Gent Wevelgem, saw Pfeiffer Georgi take an impressive solo victory for Great Britain, 52 seconds ahead of the sprinting peloton which saw Dutch riders Amber van der Hulst and Lorena Wiebes take 2nd and 3rd places.
Sunday, April 2: Ronde van Vlaanderen (Belgium)
The classic example of a late developer, German-born Katrin Garfoot, 35, keeps getting better. Married to a keen cyclist, the former heptathlete only started racing bikes when she was 29, but quickly stepped up to win bronze medals at the Australian Championships and the Commonwealth Games in 2014 - just a few months after obtaining Australian citizenship.
Last year she broke through at world level with bronze in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Doha. This spring, she led the peloton up the hills at Trofeo Binda and Gent-Wevelgem. With a combination of climbing strength and natural time trial skills, she is a main contender for the Ronde Van Vlaanderen on Sunday.
Follow Garfoot on Twitter.
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