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Thanks once again for joining us for live coverage of Scheldeprijs Women. Charlotte Kool is a very worthy winner, finishing off her team mates’ excellent work. They were patient, attentive and explosive when required, something that bodes well for the sprint battles to come this year.
And here’s to many more entertaining sprint races like that.
Cheers!

For Elisa Balsamo the wait for a win continues. She appeared to be sprinting through treacle towards the end, and she’ll be itching to right the wrongs, especially when it comes to Paris-Roubaix this weekend.
The team are in a period of re-building after the Elisa Longo Borghini’s move to UAE Team ADQ and the retirement of leaders in the shape of Lizzie Deignan and Ellen van Dijk. With only one win this year, Clara Copponi’s Ronde de Mouscron, the team appear light on finishers.

In second place Nienke Veenhoven is still looking for that big one day win, though it will surely come.
Once again she benefitted from excellent team work, her Visma-Lease a Bike squad protecting her throughout the day and keeping her close to the front when disaster struck late on.

“It was about time to win here after all those second places,” Kool said. “I’m really happy with a really good team effort that we win.

“There was a really big crash I hope everyone is okay because it sounded really nasty. We were in front and were actually in the perfect moment with the whole team there and then they did the lead out as we did in training.”

For Kool it shows a return to form. When at Picnic-PostNL she worked as a lead out rider for Lorena Wiebes, taking over as their main sprinter when her compatriot moved on.
But she has stuggled for wins, often finishing on the podium, indeed she had finsihed second at Scheldeprijs three times.

Behind Kool Nienke Veehoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) came home in second place, while Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) was third, leaving the former World Champion still searching for a win this year.

Fenix-Premier Tech boss the final kilometre and sure enough it’s Charlotte Kool who emerges to take the win.
Great work from the team and Kool delivered perfectly after a long sprint.

1km to go and Lisa van Belle of SD Worx is leading out, but she’s caught and it’ll be a sprint.

2km to go and another huge crash blights the race, plenty of riders are down and only a small group has emerged.

Lidl-Trek are there now, Balsamo looking relaxed, Kool is looking good for Fenix too. We haven’t even seen Visma’s Martina Fidanza though, and they have Nienke Veenhoven too.

Gerritse is caught and Visma still have control, Fenix-Premier Tech also on the front, the two WorldTeams controlling the race onto the most technical part of the route.

5km to go now and Gerritse still leads though she only has 10 seconds. She’s pushing a huge gear but she’s about to be caught.

Geeritse is now alone off the front on the river side she has a tail wind, but the peloton seem to be in control.
Gerristse isn’t looking back though!

Onto the cobbles and once again Guarischi attacks, she has team mate Geeritse on her wheel and they have a gap, Visma-Lease a Bike desperately trying to bring the move back.

Another crash with five or six riders down, close to the back of the bunch. It’s the second crash already on this final lap.

High Tech Products-Fluid Control are at the front too, the Continental squad fighting with the WorldTour teams ahead of the final passage of the Broekstraat cobbles.

10km to go

The calm before the storm now, the lead outs on the front working well to dominate the race ahead of the final. Lidl-Trek, Visma-Lease a Bike, Human Powered Health and Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypoto are all there. SD Worx too, but have they really settled for a sprint?

With 15km to go it seems SD Worx’s strategy has changed, they’re one of the teams formed into a lead out close to the front, Schreiber at the front of their train.
Is this for a sprint or maybe for another, all-out attack?

The last lap is now underway.

As the finish line approached the shape of the peloton changed as the pace lifted and Garau was caught. Teams are now getting together into their lead outs to protect their sprinters.

One lap to go

Garau haș 10 seconds on the bunch, but it feels as though the peloton are resigned to the fact the race will conclude in a sprint.

20km

Finally someone gets a gap! But it’s not one of the SD Worx riders, instead it’s Marina Garau (Vini Fantini-BePink) who’s been allowed a small advantage.
The WorldTour sprinters’ teams will not see the 23-year-old Spanish rider as a threat, so are allowing her to dangle a few secinds off the front.

Onto Broekstraat for the penultimate time and it’s Visma-Lease a Bike who take the lead. Fenix-Premier Tech are making their presence felt too, though no one is attacking.

Schreiber was the first of the SD Worx riders to attack on the first passage of the Broekstraat cobbled sector. The team are yet to make any move stick for much more than a few seconds.

With the Kopecký group caught Gerritse tries, then Luxembourg champion Marie Schreiber.
Theyr’e trying in a different part of the circuit now and seem to be having more luck, though maybe that’s just fatigue.

30km to go

And Guarischi has a gap, riding with Helène Hesters (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) and Daniek Hengeveld (Visma-Lease a Bike).
But they’re caught too and Kopecký draws another small group away.

Over the line and Guarischi attacks again!
Since joining SD Worx in 2023, most of Guarischi’s success has come as a lead out for Lorena Wiebes.
She’s a tough competitor and had plenty of wins in her earlier years though.

Barbara Guarischi on navigating chaos and crashes to bring Lorena Wiebes to another victory at the UAE Tour Women.

Kopecký caught again and neo-pro Robyn Clay (Picnic-PostNL) gives it a go. But she can’t achieve what SD Worx didn’t manage either.

40km left

Kopecký was caught and it’s Guarischi’s turn to make a move along the river side. No one’s willing to help though, so Kopecký tries another one!

Onto the cobbles of Broekstraat again, Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba) has a bit of a gap, though it’s no surprise she’s been caught by SD Worx’s Kopecký.

Cobbles!

Lidl-Trek are bossing this race, making sure they’re ever present on or close to the front, they also covered all of the SD Worx attacks on the last lap, making sure Balsamo has the best opportunity to take the victory.

And breathe.
With the breakaway caught he race has settled and SD Worx have melted away into the bunch to plan their next move.
Using the cobbles and the later part of the lap could be a good strategy as it’s the most technical part of the circuit, making it easier to snap the elastic.

Well, that didn’t last long! Guarischi tired another move, caught the break, but the rest of the bunch were hot on her heels.
The break is caught.

Over the line for the first time.
Seynave, Van Dam, Porton, Jäger, Huber, Gadd and Gschwentner have been joined by one of the Vini Fantini riders, but the bunch are just a handful of seconds behind.

50km remaining

The problem for SD Worx is that none of the teams with a sprinter are going to work with them and it’s so difficult on a flat course to get away alone. They’ll need to make sure they don’t attack themselves to a standstill.

Now it’s Gerritse’s turn, one after another SD Worx are going hard, they’re being brought back each time, but this is wearing on the other teams’ legs.
Now it’s Julia Kopecký’s turn.
All this action has brought the gap to the breakaway down to only 20 seconds.

Without Lorena Wiebes SD Worx have said they’re not too interested in a sprint. Though they have Barbara Guarischi, Femke Gerritse and Marta Lach who can all sprint, they’re not top level fast women, so they need to try something else if they want to win.
They’re on it now, Guarischi and Lach have both made moves.

Seynave, Van Dam, Porton, Jäger, Huber, Gadd and Gschwentner have finished the first passage of the cobbles now, their lead staying around the 1.20 mark.
Though behind them SD Worx-Protime are on the move.

The breakaway’s advantage is now down to 1.12. It seems the peloton want to have control of the race by the time they reach the three closing circuits. Remember, they cross the line with 50.7km to go, but we have the Broekstraat cobbles very soon.

60km to go

Joris was off the front during Monday’s Ronde de Mouscron, she put in a big effort, so if that’s still in the legs today could be a along day as she tries to get back in the bunch.

Seynave was another of today’s break who were up the road at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.
We’ve hada big crash in the peloton, with up to 25 riders either down or held up. Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Febe Joris (UAE Team ADQ) are two of those affected, but they’re up and off again.

In that leading group Seynave and Porton are starting to miss the odd turn, leaving the other five riders to do the work.
Whether they’re suffering or have some tactical plan.
Whatever, the gap is coming down fast now, the peloton only 1.40 behind.

Our leading group of Seynave, Van Dam, Porton, Jäger, Huber, Gadd and Gschwentner have lost some of their advantage, which is now down to only 1.55.

70km to go

Broekstraat is the race’s main cobbled sector and it’s ridden four times, once just before the race reaches the finish line for the first time, then on each of the three laps.
It could prove a decisive moment if enough teams want to try a move there, especially as it comes with only 8km of the lap to go.

Hashimi and Gissinger’s breakaway is over and they are now back in the bunch, though our seven leaders have maintained their lead.

Gissinger and Hashimi are now together, but still over tow minutes behind the leading group.
Seynave, Van Dam, Porton, Jäger, Huber, Gadd and Gschwentner continue to lead the peloton by almost 3 minutes.

80km to go

The race is organised by Flanders Classics and was the last of the their traditional spring classics to get a women’s race, the first edition coming in 2021.

The lead for Seynave, Van Dam, Porton, Jäger, Huber, Gadd and Gschwentner is now out to 2.54 on the peloton, however we have two chasers in the gap.
Aude Aune Gissinger (Hitec Products-Fluid Control) is at 1.24 while Afghan champion Fariba Hashimi (Vini Fantini-BePink) is 2.21 behind.

90km left to race

Yonna van Dam is creating a remarkable record this spring, she was in the breakaway at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday and at In Flanders Fields 10 days a go. What a rider.

Finally we have a breakaway, and they have a decent advantage already, they’re 1.40 ahead of the bunch.
Ilken Seynave (Lotto-Intermarché), Yonna van Dam (Citymesh-Customm), Mari Porton (Handsling Alba Development), Clara Jäger (LKT Team), Lea Huber (NEXETIS), Lucy Gadd and Leila Gschwentner both from the British Smurfit-Westrock team.

100km to go

Charlotte Kool isn’t the only rider here today who has finished on the podium before. Obviously there’s Balsamo, who won last year and finished third once too.
Also, her former leadout rider, Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto) was second in 2022 and third in ’23, while Rachele Barbieri (Picnic-PostNL) was third in 2022 and Martina Fidanza (Visma-Lease a Bike) third in 24.

There are 10 of the 14 WorldTour teams taking part today, two of the second division ProTeams and 12 Continental squads, making for a big old peloton of just under 140 riders, including some late drop outs.

What day for a bike race, it seems like spring has really sprung!

110km to go

While the other high profile races of the Belgian spring have been WorldTour level, Scheldeprijs was promoted to the second division ProSeries level this year. This status means there are more WorldTour teams but it still allows Pro and Continental teams to take part. Even Club teams can race, but none are here today.

We’ve had some attacks in the peloton but nothing has stuck just yet.

120km to go

Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) has finished third at Scheldeprijs on three occasions and is on flying form so far this season, with a win, a second place and a string of top 10s. Can she do it today?
She’s certainly here!

Balsamo has had a couple of podium finishes so far this area but she’s yet to take a win. She’s a class act and will click sometime soon, but will it be today?

As it’s generally a sprinter’s race it’ll be no surprise to learn that Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) is the record winner. The Dutch champion won the first four editions, though she didn’t ride last year – and isn’t this time either.
In 2025 it was Elisa Balsamo’s race and the Italian is here to defend her title.

It’s set to be a beautiful day in northern Belgium, about 20ºC with winds barely exceeding 10km/h, so the chance of echelon action is low.

The race is on.
The route takes us due north, onto the exposed flat countryside, looping back to Schoten, crossing the finish line with 50.7km to go then taking on three laps of 16.9km, including some cobbles, though nothing too gnarly!

130.3km to go

One woman not starting the race today is Clara Copponi.

The Lidl-Trek rider is bang in form after winning the Ronde de Mouscron earlier this week.

And we are rolling!
With only 300m of climbing throughout today’s 130.3km race, this is usually a day for the sprinters, indeed the fast women have battled for the win in all five previous editions.

Back to today’s race, we roll out for 2.5km of neutral at 11:40 local time, with the flag dropping for the official start about five minutes later.

Sadly Reusser suffered another crash on Sunday and is out injured again. She wouldn’t be riding today anyway as Movistar have opted out of this ProSeries level race. Reading Cat Ferguson’s diary it sounds as though they need the day off!

Tour of Flanders is the toughest, most powerful race on the calendar, and that is felt in every pedal stroke.

And before that we saw an incredibly tense Dwars Door Vlaanderen where Movistar’s Marlen Reusser took the win in her first race since an injury.

“For me it was perfect” she said.

Today’s race comes on the back of a breathless series of spring races, not least Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.

There Demi Vollering and her FDJ United-SUEZ team were absolutely dominant.

The riders are already signing on in the Belgian sunshine, here the Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi squad have some fun celebrating Catalina Anais Soto’s birthday on the podium.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of yet another Belgian one day race. Today we’re in Schoten, on the north eastern edge of Antwerp, for Scheldeprijs.