Fouquenet solos to victory in Heusden-Zolder
A historic first for Fouquenet, who became the first French rider to win a race in the Telenet Superprestige. She broke away at the start of the final lap and held off Vas and Van der Heijden to take the win.
There was no real acceleration in the opening laps, but gradually a leading group of five formed: Fouquenet (Arkea–B&B Hotels Women), Vas (SD Worx Protime), Van der Heijden (Crelan–Corendon), Van Alphen (Seven Racing), and Schreiber (SD Worx Protime). The race remained largely controlled, with few attacks. The focus was more on chasing from behind, as Norbert Riberolle (Crelan–Corendon) and Moors (Baloise Glowi Lions) were never far off.
By the start of the fifth of six laps, Fouquenet, Van der Heijden, and Vas held a small gap, but a breakaway didn’t materialize. In fact, Norbert Riberolle and Moors rejoined, briefly enlarging the front group. The extended lead pack didn’t stay together for long, as the pace at the front gradually increased. Fouquenet, Vas, and Van der Heijden seemed to have the strongest legs, with Van Alphen doing everything she could to stay in touch, and succeeding.
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As in previous laps, Fouquenet opened a small gap in the technical section. Just before the start of the final lap, that gap had grown larger than at any point earlier in the race. The French rider had already shown multiple times that she was the strongest and confirmed it on the last lap. No one from the chasing group was able to catch her. Fouquenet rode solo to the finish, crossing the line eight seconds ahead of Vas, who overtook Van Alphen in the final straight.
With this victory, Fouquenet became the first French rider to win a women’s race in the Telenet Superprestige. Van Alphen takes over the overall lead from Van der Heijden.
