The 12th edition of the Gent-Wevelgem women's race was a case for Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx - Protime). The Dutch serial winner now also has her first victory in a major classic in the bag. However, it was a close-run thing. After 171 kilometres between Ypres and Wevelgem, the decision was only made in favour of the 25-year-old after the photos of the finish line had been evaluated. With a tiger's leap, she had only put centimetres between herself and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) in second place. The Italian only just missed out on her team's double victory, after Mads Pedersen had successfully sprinted to victory in the men's race an hour and a half earlier. Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ), another Italian, finished third.
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No unity after the Kemmelberg
"It took a few years. That's why I'm really happy to have won the race for the first time," said a satisfied winner at the finish. Wiebes took part in Gent-Wevelgem for the first time in 2019. She finished second back then. Since then, she has not made it back into the top 10. As so often this season, Lotte Kopecky took the sprint from her. The Belgian attacked several times during the course of the race, but was unable to bring about a preliminary decision on the climbs.
Not even on the final crossing of the Kemmelberg 34 kilometres before the finish. Eight riders, the SD-Worx trio of Kopecky, Wiebes and last year's winner Marlen Reusser - who was able to pull out a lead of almost three minutes in 2023 - and Elisa Longo Borghini, Shirin van Anrooij (both Lidl-Trek), Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ), were able to break away and open up a half-minute lead. However, there was no unity after that, so that less than ten kilometres later everything was back together again.
Although there were still a few attacks on the last flat kilometres, among others by Emma Norsgaard or Floortje Mackaij (both Movistar), they were put back, as was the last attempt by Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez), who tried again two kilometres before the end and was only put back 500 metres before the finish.
The top 10 of the women's race at Gent-Wevelgem 2024
- Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) 4:16:18
- Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) +0:00
- Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) +0:00
- Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:00
- Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Uno-X Mobility) +0:00
- Arlenis Sierra (Movistar) +0:00
- Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) +0:00
- Thalita de Jong (Lotto-Dstny Ladies) +0:00
- Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck) +0:00
- Maggie Coles-Lyster (Roland) +0:00
