Attackers just fall short on preventing a sprint in Scheldeprijs, where Balsamo narrowly beats Kool

The riders were set off just before noon for a northern loop toward the Netherlands. The organizers had mapped out a 130.3-kilometer course that finished with three laps on a local circuit in the finishing town of Schoten. That circuit included some cobbled sections, most notably the Broekstraat. With Kool, Balsamo, and Consonni on the start list, expectations were high for a powerful sprint showdown to decide the race.

However, American Alison Mrugal and Irishwoman Amelia Tyler clearly weren’t interested in a bunch sprint, as they attacked very early on. The peloton didn’t mind and allowed the duo to gradually build a lead. Meanwhile, Sweden’s Stina Kagevi realized too late that she had missed the move and found herself in a hopeless solo chase, eventually being reeled back in by the pack.

In the main group, Georgia Baker suffered a mechanical issue with 65 kilometers to go. Fortunately, the New Zealander was able to continue quickly and was paced back into the peloton by her teammates. At that point, the leading duo held an advantage of about two and a half minutes.

As the race neared its final phase, the gap to the two breakaway leaders began to shrink. On the cobbles of the Broekstraat, Zoe Bäckstedt launched an attack with 25 kilometers to go. A group of fifteen riders briefly got clear but was eventually reeled back in. However, Bäckstedt managed to break away from the peloton again, this time with seven other riders. They quickly joined Mrugal and Tyler, who were still out in front. That made a lead group of ten riders, with SD Worx–Protime well represented by Marie Schreiber and Femke Gerritse.

Picnic–PostNL, who had one of the day’s fastest sprinters in Charlotte Kool, had missed the move and was forced to lead the chase in the peloton. Heading into the final lap, the Dutch squad faced a 14-second deficit.

Closing that gap proved to be a tough task. The ten riders up front were working together smoothly, and the peloton dangled around ten seconds behind for a long time. With just three kilometers to go, the gap was still seven seconds, making for a tense finale. At 1700 meters from the line, the breakaway was finally caught—though Bäckstedt tried one last time to stay clear.

It was all in vain, as the peloton gave everything to force a sprint finish. Lidl–Trek took control in the final kilometer with a well-organized lead-out for Balsamo. Kool looked to be too far back but moved up just in time. Still, she couldn’t come around Balsamo, who launched first. It was close, but the Italian narrowly beat Kool to the line.