The young Australian rider impressed with her time trial performances and consistency throughout the week
Felicity Wilson-Haffenden continued her impressive run of form at the Baloise Ladies Tour, securing third place overall after a week of consistent racing. Using her strong time trialing abilities, the Australian took one of the biggest results of her career for Lidl-Trek and made a significant step forward in her development.
Wilson-Haffenden laid the foundations for her podium challenge from the opening day, finishing fourth in the fast and technical prologue. Her standout ride came in the stage 3a individual time trial, where she powered to second place behind overall winner Zoe Bäckstedt. That result propelled her back into the top three overall and, with help from her teammates, she successfully kept a podium position through the final two stages.
Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images
The race also saw another encouraging display from Belgian talent Fleur Moors. Racing on home roads, Moors thrilled local fans by finishing third in the opening prologue, just six seconds behind Bäckstedt. The 20-year-old remained competitive throughout the week, finishing sixth overall and winning the best Belgian rider classification.
The team’s fast finisher, Clara Copponi, also impressed with three top-5 positions in the sprint stages.
Overall, it was an impressive team effort in Belgium from a line-up of riders who successfully managed both stage wins and GC ambitions. The performances of young riders Wilson-Haffenden and Moors, reflected the team’s depth and its commitment to developing the next generation of talent. Lidl-Trek also took the overall team classification.
Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images
In Felicity's words
I am super happy to take third place on GC. Two years ago I finished last place in this race so it is a big step forward for me and to have that finally on a results sheet, that really shows me that I am moving in the right direction.
Of course, the time trials were what made the GC and I’m super proud of my performances there. There was still a big time gap to close to Zoe [Bäckstedt], but it is one step closer which is something I can be happy with.
It was a bit of a shame to lose second on the last day but, in the end, sprinters are just that much faster and I couldn’t compete in the sprint. But it’s good we had Clara and Fleur to do the sprints.
As a team we were super strong this week and we also saw that because we took the team classification. I can’t thank the girls enough for the way they looked after me this week in the final stage today especially because it was a really hectic, technical course which isn’t my forte. But I’m super grateful for the belief of the team this week and I’m looking forward to the next races.
