Team dsm-firmenich PostNL claim final Tour de Normandie stage win with Josie Nelson

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL secured a brilliant win on the final stage at the Tour de Normandie today as Josie Nelson attacked her breakaway companions in the finale, arriving solo at the line in Caen.

Setting out with a plan to animate the stage, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL rode well together in the opening part of the day, covering the dangerous moves and setting up Nelson to make it into a large breakaway group. Traversing the many hills along the route, Nelson’s break built up a three minute advantage which forced a hard chase behind where Nienke Vinke followed and marked the countering group. Coming into the final ten kilometres it was clear Nelson’s group would fight it out for the win and after biding her time, the Team dsm-firmenich PostNL newcomer launched a brilliant attack in the closing kilometres. Not looking back until the finish, she was able to sit up and celebrate a momentous occasion at the line, taking her first professional victory and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL Women’s program’s first of the 2024 campaign.

An elated Nelson expressed: “A group of about 20 got away up the climb on the second local lap with quite a few teams represented, so the peloton let us get up to three minutes and it stayed that distance for most of the stage. Not many people were working so we were really putting pressure on up the climbs to try and make the group smaller. Eventually we got it down to five of us and one rider 20 seconds ahead who we eventually brought back. The break stayed away until the local finishing laps where the time gap got to just over a minute. I could see that I was one of the stronger ones in the group and realised I also had a technical advantage through the corners so used this on the final lap and attacked with one kilometre to go and I held on for the win. All of the girls have worked so hard the past four days so I’m really happy I can finish it off for the team.”