The women’s Tour of Bruges produced a shock winner as 19-year-old Brit Carys Lloyd powered to victory in a chaotic bunch sprint. The Movistar Team rider got the better of Elisa Balsamo and Nienke Veenhoven, while pre-race favourite Lorena Wiebes could only finish ninth.
After a steady opening, the race sprang to life when crosswinds split the peloton into echelons at around the 70km mark. The damage was limited, however, and the field regrouped ahead of the final lap.
A sudden hailstorm then tore through the race, prompting a sharp increase in pace led by UAE Team ADQ. The peloton stretched and thinned once more, but no decisive move stuck. Alison Jackson briefly forced the issue on the cobbles of the Brieversweg, while a late move from Jony van den Eijnden and Babette van der Wolf was swiftly reeled in.
A bunch sprint became inevitable, but it unravelled for Wiebes. The Dutch champion was boxed in along the barriers and never found clear road. Charlotte Kool, meanwhile, had already been ruled out following an earlier crash.
That left the door open for Lloyd, who kept her composure amid the chaos to claim the biggest win of her young career. Chiara Consonni crossed the line fourth, with Shari Bossuyt fifth and best of the home riders.
