‘We will fight to get revenge’ – Balsamo's Gent-Wevelgem near miss stokes Tour of Flanders fire

WEVELGEM BELGIUM MARCH 24 Second place winner Elisa Balsamo of Italy and Team LidlTrek reacts after the 13rd GentWevelgem in Flanders Fields 2024 Womens Elite a 1712km one day race from Ieper to Wevelgem UCIWWT on March 24 2024 in Wevelgem Belgium Photo by Luc ClaessenGetty Images
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and her team absorb the close-run second at Gent-Wevelgem 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Heading into Gent-Wevelgem Women Elisa Balsamo had been on the charge, winning her last two races, Classic Brugge - De Panne and Trofeo Alfredo Binda, and while the impressive form and teamwork continued through to Sunday’s race the Lidl-Trek rider fell just centimeters short of making it three in a row.

It was instead SD Worx who made it to the top step this time, with Lorena Wiebes winning the sprint which was so tight that the top two had to wait for the analysis of the photo finish before finding out whether they could celebrate victory. It was clear by the look on her face that missing out on making it three in a row by such a narrow margin stung, but Balsamo could also see the positives. 

Simone Giuliani
Australia Editor

Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.

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