May 2/21 11:46 am - Kirchmann 2nd overall after Final Stage of Elsy Jacobs

Posted by Editoress on 05/2/21
 

The final day of racing at Festival Elsy Jacobs saw the bunch take on two separate loops around the town of Garnich, with the latter circuit featuring two punchy climbs. From the flag drop the racing was on with numerous attacks before a solo rider was able to escape and build up a lead. With all Team DSM riders in the peloton, focus switched to conserving as much energy as possible for the tough finale.

Into the last 40 kilometres the breakaway was caught and an fast pace was set on the climb, with Juliette Labous making it into the front group of 18 that escaped. Second on GC, Leah Kirchmann was in the chase group behind, but the experienced Canadian didn’t panic and rode within her limits and eventually, heading onto the last lap, the race came back together. Despite some more attacks, which Labous covered well, the stage was decided by a reduced bunch sprint finish with Kirchmann and Labous finishing well for seventh and eighth place respectively. Those results saw Kirchmann secure second on GC for the team, with Labous making it a double top ten in tenth place after three intense days of racing in Luxembourg.

"Today was a tough fought race and I’m glad that I could finish off the weekend with second place on GC!" said Kirchmann after the stage. "It was quite an aggressive stage since the overall was still within seconds. The race really exploded on the local laps, and unfortunately I ended up in the second group. Juliette rode really strong to represent the team in the front group. There were some moments that I thought the race might be done, but I didn’t give up fighting, and we finally made contact going into the final lap. In the sprint, I chose to follow Norsgaard, but didn’t have the legs in the end to place better. Overall, I think we can be happy with what we accomplished as a team this week.
Team DSM report

Results from the final stage of the Festival Elsy Jacobs in Luxembourg