Lisa Klein powered to second place today in the first edition of UCI 1.1 Danilith Nokere Koerse for women in Belgium. Despite more than 21 cobblestone sections and 7 ascents of the cobbled finish climb in Nokere, the peloton came to the line for a bunch sprint. The 121.6km race from Deinze to Nokere, was won by Lorena Wiebes (PHV), with Klein sprinting to second and Lotte Kopecky (LSL) in third place.

“I’m super pleased with today’s race and the result. I already felt really good in the first race hour and after the first road races on the weekend, I can now say I’ve also got my road racing mentality back! ” said Klein after the finish.

“Rotem (Gafinovitz) didn’t have her best day but was still able to help in the important parts. I was super surprised how Ella (Harris) raced. She did well with positioning and when we were not present in a breakaway she answered my call in the radio and she was able to bring it back straight away. And Tiff (Cromwell) did a great lead out for me. After I saw her efforts in the final kilometre then I thought ‘okay, now this needs a result’, so that felt good.”

“I was happy with how the team trusted me for the final today. With the small team we had, then I believe we can be satisfied with the outcome from today. It gives me also a lot of confidence for the next races and the main team goals for spring,” added Klein.

“We gave full support to Lisa and she delivered. From the start of the race I knew she was on form. She kept telling me how great she felt and how the finish suited her. We only had a small team, and with Tanja (Erath) recovering from being sick we weren’t sure how she would be able to go. I think everyone played their part in the race, kept Lisa out of trouble and the team on the front foot,” commented Cromwell.

“There was never a chance to get bored. The cobblestones sectors and the tough finish drag took it out of your legs by the time the final came around. It was good to see the team fighting all the way to the finish, even if we were down on numbers or still a bit tired from the Dutch races last weekend. That spirit is important.”

“The final kilometres were definitely the most difficult and after we covered attacks in the last 5km I covered Lisa from the wind and brought her to around 300-400m to go and let her finish it off. We’re happy with the race and the result,” added the Australian rider. 

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