Strong teamwork and aggressive racing rewarded with fourth place for Shari Bossuyt

AG Insurance - Soudal once again showed an attacking mindset in Nokere Koerse, taking initiative from far out and shaping the finale as a team.

With around 40 kilometres to go, the race really came to life. Marthe Goossens animated the peloton with several strong accelerations, splitting the group in two and putting the team in an excellent position heading into the final phase.

As the race unfolded, the team remained attentive and well-positioned. Shari Bossuyt made it into a key move of four riders on the Lange Ast in the finale, creating a promising situation, but the group was eventually brought back together.

After that, it became clear that the race would likely end in a sprint, even though Ilse Pluimers still gave it a strong try with a short solo effort. Her move once again highlighted the team’s aggressive approach, but the headwind in the final made it difficult to stay away.

In the closing kilometres, the team also faced some bad luck when Bossuyt suffered a flat tyre and had to continue on the same bike. Despite this setback, she managed to stay in contention and sprinted to a solid fourth place.

“The goal was to make it an aggressive race, and I think we really managed to do that, especially in the last 40 kilometres. Marthe Goossens was the first to try and split the peloton with a few attacks, and she succeeded. Then at the end of the race we decided to play our cards with Ilse Pluimers. She was feeling strong, so we sent her on a solo attack. It was a good move and the right decision, but with the headwind in the final it’s always very difficult to hold off the bunch.

In the final kilometres, we also had some bad luck with Shari Bossuyt as she suffered a flat tire. She had to continue on the same bike, which made things harder, but she still managed to get the best possible result out of it. In the end, it’s fourth place. Of course, just missing out on the podium is disappointing, but I’m really proud of how the team raced today. The way they worked for each other, supported each other and stayed committed to the plan was great to see.” Concludes sports director Jolien D’Hoore.