Jolien D'hoore (Wiggle High 5) wins BeNe Ladies Tour(Image credit: Wiggle High5)
Defending champion Jolien D'hoore (Wiggle High5)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jolien D'hoore (Belgium)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jolien D'hoore (Wiggle High5)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jolien D'hoore (Wiggle High5) showed that she is still the woman-to-beat at the BeNe Ladies Tour after winning three of the four stages, along with the overall title on Sunday. The UCI 2.2 race was held from July 15-17 in Belgium. The former Belgian champion says the short stage race was perfect training for her objectives on the track at the Olympic Games in Rio in August.
“The race was perfect preparation for the track,” she in a team press release. “But I came in a bit tired because I did a lot of training in the last couple of weeks. But I still pulled off some great results; and that’s hopeful for the future if I can do this when I’m tired!”
D'hoore won the opening stage in Philippine, Netherlands, on Friday ahead of Emilie Moberg (Hitec Products) and Nina Kessler (Lensworld-Zannata), and took the event's first leader's jersey.
“The first day was pretty good,” D’hoore said in a team press release. “Me and Chloe [Hosking] were in the first big group and it ended up in a bunch sprint. Chloe did a perfect lead out again, and I just had to come over in the last 200 metres; and I won.
Kessler won the stage 2a road race in Sint-Laureins but D'hoore went on to win the stage 2b time trial in the same city ahead of Floortje Mackaij (Liv-Plantur) and Elise Delzenne (Lotto-Soudal).
“The second day was a bit more hectic,” D’hoore said in a team press release. “There was a breakaway of three girls in the last lap, and the plan was to for Chloe in the sprint so I had to chase it down. I couldn’t close it by myself, so Chloe had to help, so then neither of us could sprint any more in the end. Chloe had a crash as well, so that wasn’t really good. I was a bit frustrated after the race, and then there was the time trial; so I could go full-gas in the time trial, and that’s what I did."
She finished off the tour winning the final stage in Zelzate, Belgium, on Sunday ahead of Marta Tagliaferro (Alé-Cipollini) and Elise Delzenne (Lotto-Soudal).
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“It was another bunch sprint,” D’hoore said. “There was a breakaway of two girls - two girls from Parkhotel, Vera Koedooder and Ilona Hoeksma - and they had a gap of about 1’40”. But we chased it down, along with Lotto-Soudal, and we got Vera back in the last 500 metres. It was really close!”
She secured the overall title ahead of Mackaij and Delzenne.
