Key Highlights :
Belgian cycling team Merlier and Lampaert led home their home nation in 23rd and 24th place at the UCI Women’s WorldTour cobbled Classics, ending a disappointing campaign. The team had high hopes of a top result after a strong showing at the Tour of Flanders, but they were unable to match the consistency of their male counterparts.
“It’s been a tough season for us,” Merlier said. “We really wanted to do well in the Classics, but we just couldn’t get it together. We had some good moments, but we also had some bad ones. We’re really disappointed with the way it ended. We’ll take this experience and learn from it.”
Lampaert echoed her teammate’s sentiment, saying that they will use this as motivation for the future. “We’re not happy with the result, but we’re happy with how we’ve been racing,” she said. “We’re going to use this experience to improve and do better next year.”
The team’s biggest disappointment came at the Tour of Flanders, where they were unable to keep up with the front group. They finished in sixth place, just two seconds behind the winner. However, they were unable to replicate that performance at the other Classics. Merlier and Lampaert finished seventh and eighth at the Ronde van Drenthe, and fifth and sixth at the E3 Harelbeke.
Despite the poor results, Merlier and Lampaert remain optimistic for the future. “We’re still young and we have a lot to learn,” Merlier said. “We’re going to keep working hard and hope to improve next year.”