The opening stage at Tour de la Semois saw a rolling day out in the Ardennes, with a lap circuit in the finale that included the Col du Conrad; a climb that averaged over seven percent for two kilometres. From the start it was a hard and aggressive race and the bunch thinned down. Some good positioning work by Daniek Hengeveld and Megan Jastrab saw Elise Uijen and Francesca Barale well towards the front for the first time up the ascent, where the peloton reduced once more.
Things swelled a bit back up to around 30 riders going onto the last ascent, but on the climb the fireworks were lit. Some strong climbing by Uijen and Barale saw them come over the top in a group of around ten riders, but a few more were able to return when the pace went out. Coming into the finale, Uijen helped set-up Barale for the sprint finish, with the young Italian getting up to take seventh place on the day, with Uijen not far behind in tenth.
Barale said: “It was a pretty hard day, the parcours was up and down throughout. I think overall the teamwork was good as we were always in the front and in the right moves. The day came down to the last climb that we did two times and there the group came smaller. The first lap was okay but the second time up was much harder. Elise and I made it over in the front in a group of around ten but some more riders then came back which was a shame. Coming into the finish we focused fully on the sprint with me. Elise led me out perfectly but I think I just missed the legs a bit at the end for a top result. Overall I had a good feeling and I think we can be confident for tomorrow as we were with the best on the climb, so we will give it our all again.”