LDutchwoman Karlijn Swinkels won the sprint ahead of Italian Elisa Longo-Borghini in the 3rd edition of the Grand Prix de Wallonie femmes (1.1). The race was held on Wednesday between Blegny and the Citadelle of Namur over a distance of 139.4 kilometres.
135 riders took the start of the 3rd edition of the Grand Prix de Wallonie, Wednesday mid-morning in Blegny. It was not until halfway through the race that a breakaway of five competitors took shape: Ilse Pluimers (AG Insurance-Soudal), Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek), Nina Buijsman (FDJ-Suez), Alenia Amialiusik (UAE Team ADQ) and Alison Jackson (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) took an advantage that was still controlled by the peloton around the half-minute mark.
The general regrouping took place after 116 kilometres, before the climb of Tienne aux Pierres where the Italian Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) took the lead by quickly opening up a gap of more than 40 seconds. The action of the UNO-X and FDJ-Suez teams brought the escapee back into sight. Realini’s short adventure ended eight kilometres from the finish as the race approached the Citadel of Namur. The regrouping of around thirty competitors occurred five kilometres from the finish. The group headed straight for the sprint on the long false flat finish at the Citadel.
Dutchwoman Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) entered the final corner in the lead, 400 metres from the finish line, and managed to hold on to the lead of the group until the end, getting the better of Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and Dutchwoman Anouska Koster (Uno-X).
Karlijn Swinkels, who recorded his first success of the season in Namur, succeeded Polish Marta Lach on the list of winners.
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