Seven-fold world champion Marianne Vos kicked off the new year in style for her new WM3 Energy team by winning the GP Sven Nys in Baal, Belgium on New Year's Day. Vos finished solo ahead of Ellen Van Loy (Telenet-Fidea) in the seventh round of the IJsboerke Ladies Trophy. World Champion Thalita De Jong (Lares-Waowdeals) rounded out the podium.
"I wanted to start well for myself but it's great to start well for the new team. They came here with a bus full of people from WM3," Vos told Sporza.
Vos needed two laps to catch up with a fast-started Van Loy. During the penultimate lap Vos powered away from the veteran Belgian rider, reaching the finish with a bonus of 16 seconds. De Jong beat Belgian champion Sanne Cant (IKO Enertherm-Beobank) in the sprint for third place. With one round left to race, De Jong remains comfortably in the lead of the IJsboerke Ladies Trophy.
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"Today was very scary with the frozen tracks. I showed character and rode full gas. I managed to catch Cant and pass her in the sprint. Beforehand I thought I would lose the series here but in the end I lost only five seconds in the intermediate sprint. There's one round left in Lille. A lot has to happen to lose out on three quarters of a minute," De Jong told Sporza.
Overnight frost turned the mud on the undulating course around the Balenberg climb into deep frozen ruts. Ellen Van Loy dealt best with the difficult circumstances, surging to the front as world champion De Jong was struggling in the first corners. Cant also struggled.
"Cold conditions is what I prefer, even more than rain. I love this course. It's a matter of switching the button on these frozen ruts," Van Loy told Sporza. After the first of five laps Van Loy had a good lead over chasers Vos and Cant. Dutch rider Annemarie Worst (Mijn Bad Liv-Giant) rode strong in Baal and followed at short distance. De Jong was a little further back with Laura Verdonschot (Marlux-Napoleon Games) and Nikki Brammeier (Boels-Dolmans).
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