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Ronde de Mouscron: Clara Copponi blasts away opposition to clinch powerful bunch sprint victory
By
Alasdair Fotheringham
published
Frenchwoman finishes well clear of closest pursuer, 2025 winner Susanne Andersen
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Clara Copponi finished off the work of a dominating Lidl-Trek squad in style at the Ronde de Mouscron on Monday, blasting up the final straightaway to easily clinch her fifth victory of the season in a bunch sprint.
Faultlessly led out at distance by teammate Margo Vanpachtenbeke, the 27-year-old finished clearly ahead of last year’s winner Susanne Andersen (Uno X-Mobility) and Spain’s Alicia Gonzalez (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93).
Run on relentlessly flat terrain in sunny weather, the one-day race saw some early attackers but Lidl-Trek were determined this was going to come down to a bunch sprint, and Copponi responded perfectly with the fifth victory of her career and first of 2026.
Article continues below
For the opening segment of the 125km event, with five laps around Mouscron, the bunch remained together until Uneken Lonneke (VolkerWessels) opened a gap after around an hour of racing. The winner of the MidWest Cycling Classic from a small group sprint a few weeks back, her effort to go solo was crushed after just seven kilometres
The race pounded on, Lidl-Trek taking command of the peloton, then a collective acceleration by UAE Team ADQ saw Febe Jooris head away some 30 kilometres from the line in pursuit of a solo win. Ten kilometres later, though, it was all over for the Belgian racer, as the peloton gathered pace.
Attack after attack rained down, with Manon de Boer (Citymesh-Customm) the next to try her luck on the flat course in Belgium’s Far West. But Mouscron has always been won in sprints in its five previous editions and this was going to be no exception.
Lidl-Trek were present yet again in numbers in the closing kilometres, only for Uno X-Mobility, riding for last year’s winner Andersen, to take over along with Lotto-Intermarché. The three teams bossed the front of the peloton as it headed out of the countryside and back into Mouscron for the last time.
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On the slightly rising gradient to the finish, however, Copponi clinched the victory, blasting out early and keeping the pace high. There was literally no reaction possible to successfully counter-attack such a strong charge, with the Frenchwoman crossing the line several bike lengths ahead of the opposition.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.
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1Ronde de Mouscron: Clara Copponi blasts away opposiiton to clinch powerful bunch sprint victory
-
2Itzulia Basque Country stage 1 LIVE – Primož Roglič sets early benchmark in opening stage time trial
-
3Sean Kelly’s Classics column: Tadej Pogačar turns Tour of Flanders into a torture-fest as Remco Evenepoel silences critics
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4Top cobbled Classics support rider for Tadej Pogačar reportedly extends contract for several seasons with UAE Team Emirates-XRG
-
5Itzulia Basque Country 2026: stage 1 time trial start times
Ronde de Mouscron: Clara Copponi blasts away opposition to clinch powerful bunch sprint victory
By
Alasdair Fotheringham
published
Frenchwoman finishes well clear of closest pursuer, 2025 winner Susanne Andersen
-
Results
-
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X
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Pinterest
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Email
Follow us
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Clara Copponi finished off the work of a dominating Lidl-Trek squad in style at the Ronde de Mouscron on Monday, blasting up the final straightaway to easily clinch her fifth victory of the season in a bunch sprint.
Faultlessly led out at distance by teammate Margo Vanpachtenbeke, the 27-year-old finished clearly ahead of last year’s winner Susanne Andersen (Uno X-Mobility) and Spain’s Alicia Gonzalez (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93).
Run on relentlessly flat terrain in sunny weather, the one-day race saw some early attackers but Lidl-Trek were determined this was going to come down to a bunch sprint, and Copponi responded perfectly with the fifth victory of her career and first of 2026.
Article continues below
For the opening segment of the 125km event, with five laps around Mouscron, the bunch remained together until Uneken Lonneke (VolkerWessels) opened a gap after around an hour of racing. The winner of the MidWest Cycling Classic from a small group sprint a few weeks back, her effort to go solo was crushed after just seven kilometres
The race pounded on, Lidl-Trek taking command of the peloton, then a collective acceleration by UAE Team ADQ saw Febe Jooris head away some 30 kilometres from the line in pursuit of a solo win. Ten kilometres later, though, it was all over for the Belgian racer, as the peloton gathered pace.
Attack after attack rained down, with Manon de Boer (Citymesh-Customm) the next to try her luck on the flat course in Belgium’s Far West. But Mouscron has always been won in sprints in its five previous editions and this was going to be no exception.
Lidl-Trek were present yet again in numbers in the closing kilometres, only for Uno X-Mobility, riding for last year’s winner Andersen, to take over along with Lotto-Intermarché. The three teams bossed the front of the peloton as it headed out of the countryside and back into Mouscron for the last time.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
On the slightly rising gradient to the finish, however, Copponi clinched the victory, blasting out early and keeping the pace high. There was literally no reaction possible to successfully counter-attack such a strong charge, with the Frenchwoman crossing the line several bike lengths ahead of the opposition.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
-
1Ronde de Mouscron: Clara Copponi blasts away opposiiton to clinch powerful bunch sprint victory
-
2Itzulia Basque Country stage 1 LIVE – Primož Roglič sets early benchmark in opening stage time trial
-
3Sean Kelly’s Classics column: Tadej Pogačar turns Tour of Flanders into a torture-fest as Remco Evenepoel silences critics
-
4Top cobbled Classics support rider for Tadej Pogačar reportedly extends contract for several seasons with UAE Team Emirates-XRG
-
5Itzulia Basque Country 2026: stage 1 time trial start times
Ronde de Mouscron: Clara Copponi blasts away opposition to clinch powerful bunch sprint victory
By
Alasdair Fotheringham
published
Frenchwoman finishes well clear of closest pursuer, 2025 winner Susanne Andersen
-
Facebook
-
X
-
Pinterest
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Email
Follow us
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
You are now subscribed
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Clara Copponi finished off the work of a dominating Lidl-Trek squad in style at the Ronde de Mouscron on Monday, blasting up the final straightaway to easily clinch her fifth victory of the season in a bunch sprint.
Faultlessly led out at distance by teammate Margo Vanpachtenbeke, the 27-year-old finished clearly ahead of last year’s winner Susanne Andersen (Uno X-Mobility) and Spain’s Alicia Gonzalez (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93).
Run on relentlessly flat terrain in sunny weather, the one-day race saw some early attackers but Lidl-Trek were determined this was going to come down to a bunch sprint, and Copponi responded perfectly with the fifth victory of her career and first of 2026.
Article continues below
For the opening segment of the 125km event, with five laps around Mouscron, the bunch remained together until Uneken Lonneke (VolkerWessels) opened a gap after around an hour of racing. The winner of the MidWest Cycling Classic from a small group sprint a few weeks back, her effort to go solo was crushed after just seven kilometres
The race pounded on, Lidl-Trek taking command of the peloton, then a collective acceleration by UAE Team ADQ saw Febe Jooris head away some 30 kilometres from the line in pursuit of a solo win. Ten kilometres later, though, it was all over for the Belgian racer, as the peloton gathered pace.
Attack after attack rained down, with Manon de Boer (Citymesh-Customm) the next to try her luck on the flat course in Belgium’s Far West. But Mouscron has always been won in sprints in its five previous editions and this was going to be no exception.
Lidl-Trek were present yet again in numbers in the closing kilometres, only for Uno X-Mobility, riding for last year’s winner Andersen, to take over along with Lotto-Intermarché. The three teams bossed the front of the peloton as it headed out of the countryside and back into Mouscron for the last time.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
On the slightly rising gradient to the finish, however, Copponi clinched the victory, blasting out early and keeping the pace high. There was literally no reaction possible to successfully counter-attack such a strong charge, with the Frenchwoman crossing the line several bike lengths ahead of the opposition.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
[analyse_source url=”https://www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/womens-cycling/ronde-de-mouscron-clara-copponi-blasts-away-opposiiton-to-clinch-powerful-bunch-sprint-victory/”]