Team FBUK Schwinn/Schwalbe raced in the GP Wallonne in Belgium, one of the biggest non-UCI races in the world. A total of 201 riders started and most of the big names from around the world were in the field following the women's Tour of Flanders the day before.
Team FBUK had 6 riders in the bunch, including Gabby Day riding her first
race in Belgium. A real baptism of fire. Yolandi du Toit also started
for FBUK and it was her first race for the team following her arriving
from South Africa 3 day before.
Helen Wyman and Yolandi were very equal in the bunch and they worked well
together. However as a group of 9 attacked, Helen punctured and dropped 2
minutes behind the bunch waiting for neutral service (No team cars in this
race). Despite this she chased back onto the group with Cath Hare and
both rejoined the main bunch and prepared to help Yolandi in the closing
stages.
Exiting the tiny lanes that dominated the race into the finishing
straight, Yolandi managed to secure 32nd place with Cath and Helen close
behind and also in the top 40.
Image courtesy: Bert Spits
|
Results:
- 1st Oenone Wood
- 32nd Yolandi
- 34th Helen
- 36th Cath
On Wednesday, the team went to a race an hour south of the base here in
Tielt-Winge into the hills to a town called Nandrim for a 77km race over
17 laps.
It was the same 6 riders who started for Team FBUK Schwinn/Schwalbe in the
race along with several other European pro teams. With a steep climb
dominating the first 2km of the course and them a long descent the
remaining 2 km of the lap, it looked like a good course to get riders
away, however with tired legs in the group, most attacks came to nothing.
Lorna Webb made 2 good efforts as did Cath Hare. With Helen Wyman marking
attacks and working for the other riders, only 1 riders managed to escape
the field before the end. The bunch sprint produced a good result for Tem
FBUK with 4 riders finishing in the top 20.
Brief Result:
- 1st Olivia Gollan
- 12th Cath
- 14th Yolandi
- 16th Lorna
- 18th Helen
The team now have a week off before a race next Wednesday in Belgium. The
riders will spend a couple of days in the hills training hard over the
weekend.
