Lieke Nooijen won the second edition of the Egmont Cycling Race with an impressive performance. The 23-year-old Dutch rider left her breakaway partner behind 40 kilometres before the finish line and rode solo to victory in the Belgian classic. Behind Nooijen, Nienke Veenhoven sprinted to a great third place.
In rainy conditions, it took a long time for a breakaway to form. At 60 kilometres, one rider took the lead. In the chase, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders showed themselves several times and Nooijen showed her form when she jumped toward the leader.
With 40 kilometres to go, the 23-year-old Dutch rider left her breakaway partner behind. Nooijen then proved to be the strongest by far and arrived solo with a large lead in Zottegem, where she took the win. For Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women, it is the sixteenth victory of the season.
“The plan was to try it on the attack today,” Nooijen said after her solo victory. “It was a tough race, but I soon noticed that I had good legs. When I went on the attack, I knew that with Nienke, we still had an asset in the peloton. Fortunately, with my time-trial skills, I was soon able to build up my lead. It’s really nice to be able to win this way!”
