19th March – Nokere Koerse WE: Deinze – Nokere
One-day racing returned for Team Picnic PostNL’s Women’s program on Wednesday at Nokere Koerse. Taking on a route that featured short hills and several cobbled sections, it was set to be an attritional day of racing. The team rode well as a group throughout the day and the kilometres ticked by. Heading into the final lap the race split for good with Josie Nelson representing the team in the front peloton. Positioning herself well over the last cobbled sectors and onto the uphill drag to the line, Nelson just ran out of steam as things opened up in the sprint at the finish.
Nelson said: “We had a young squad today but we did quite a good job finding each other and fighting together, but we still need improvements on this. I was positioned well all day and was riding the cobbles nicely. I felt really good throughout the race until the last kilometre when I completely cramped up. I was in the perfect position in the final, so it’s a shame to not be able to finish it off with a good result.”