The women’s peloton were set for a rolling day in the saddle at Binche – Chimay – Binche this afternoon, where they would take on a 117 kilometre route and two full laps of the traditional finish circuit in Binche. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL rode strongly as a unit throughout the day and came into the lap circuit in a good position, with Franziska Koch, Megan Jastrab, Rachele Barbieri and Charlotte Kool making the front split after some good teamwork.
Attacks followed but the team remained calm, coming to the front in the closing few kilometres to up the pace on the run-in to the cobbled kick and uphill drag to the line. Jastrab and Barbieri strung things out before handing over to Koch who kept Kool well placed in the top five riders over the steeper section. Koch then came to the front as things flattened off a bit, keeping the pace high with Kool in her wheel. Looking to launch her sprint in sight of the line, an unfortunate incident saw Kool unclip and lose all momentum, eventually finishing fourth place with Koch just behind in sixth.
Koch said: “We raced well together and tried to split the race in some crosswinds. In the final we stayed calm and caught the leaders back before the finale. Unfortunately, Charlotte touched my wheel and clipped out, so we missed out on the final kick for the win.”