Race Report: Dottignies 1.15 Belgium Race

On Thursday we did our first local Belgium race in Dottignies .  Having done a few of these races with Team MTN Qhubeka last year we knew what to expect from the race.  We were not quite prepared for the cold though.  We lined up with about 75 other ladies looking a bit more like the Michelin man with all the winter kit than actual bike racers.  The temperature during the race did not go over 10°C and it felt much colder with the strong wind blowing.  It was an 8.16km technical lap that we did 12 times for a total race distance of 97.92km.  After the first lap I decided to attack.  I was joined by Martina Corazza (ITA) from the UCI Kleo Ladies Team and Sylvia Debboudt (BEL) from the local Keukens Redant Team.  Sylvia Debboudt did not contribute after which me and Martina Corazza attacked to get rid of her.  We worked really well together to establish a gap of over a minute.  There was a decision made by the rest of the Lotto Ladies to try and get another rider into our break.  Teammate Cherise Taylor (RSA) crossed over to our break with two other ladies after the Lotto Ladies set a hard pace at the front of the bunch 45km into the race.  Together our group of 5 established a reasonable gap over the rest of the field.  Our break was eventually brought back on the last lap with 6km to go.  Teammate Joanna Van De Winkel (RSA) chose a perfect time to counter our break and the bunch let her go with 5km to go not realizing that it would be the winning move in the end.  She was joined by Martina Corazza and Laure Werner from the Sprinters Malderen Team.  It was a sprint between these three in the end and Joanna Van De Winkel secured a podium for the team finishing second behind seasoned sprinter Martina Corazza.

(Pictures: Ladiescycling-Cyclingnews.nu and Photographer: Alain Sennesael)