Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes was the final race of this spring classic campaign. Liv Racing TeqFind aimed for another good result with Mavi Garcia.
Without Sabrina Stultiens the peloton had an early start in the final spring classic. The five remaining Liv Racing TeqFind riders had one goal: to bring Mavi Garcia into a good position for the final part of the race. Jeanne Korevaar and Valerie Demey kept the team in position during the first half of the race. After an early escapee was caught, another group went on adventure. Quinty Ton tried to launch a counter attack, but a mechanical ruined her plans.
In the remaining part Ton and Caroline Andersson took care of leader Mavi Garcia. They brought her into the right position for the last hard climbs. “It was a pity that we lost Sabrina before the start. We still rode a strong race, with a clear goal to ride for Mavi. Unfortunately Quinty couldn`t bridge the gap to the escapees due to that mechanical, but she and Caroline did a brave effort afterwards bringing Mavi into position”, sports director Giorgia Bronzini did a part of the race report.
On the Côte de la Redoute a few accelerations followed. Garcia maintained her place in the front and on the Côte de Forges it was the Spanish champion herself who pushed the tempo in pursuit of the lonely leader Reusser. The gap became smaller and smaller, with the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons looming at the horizon. On that climb a group of six riders rode away. Garcia tried to close the gap, but missed the group at a few metres.
“Mavi was very strong on the Côte de Forges. She was in a group of 11 riders, but unfortunately she was the only rider of us there. When the lead group took off Mavi tried a couple of times to get away from the chase group, but the others didn`t let her go. So in the final metres she had not any energy left to contest the sprint and finished 20th. In general I am satisfied with how the team raced in the Ardennes. We just missed the podium in the Fleche Wallone. The team worked well together and grows every time it rides together”, Bronzini concluded.