"I wasn't 100% sure so I was afraid to celebrate" - Relieved Lorena Wiebes takes Gent Wevelgem victory after nervy photo finish wait

Arguably the premier sprinter in the women's peloton, Lorena Wiebes would have been quietly confident heading towards the bunch sprint finale at Gent Wevelgem 2024. Although it took a photo finish, victory did eventually go to the Team SD Worx - ProTime star.

"I had a little bit of a feeling that I'd won but I wasn't 100% sure so I was afraid to celebrate," laughs the 25-year-old in her post-race interview with Eurosport, having been awarded the narrow win ahead of Elisa Balsamo on the throw to the line.

One of the key parts in the victory of the Dutchwoman was an expert leadout from her Rainbow Jersey wearing teammate, Lotte Kopecky. "I was really happy because the team was really strong today," Wiebes assesses. "We kept control and we made it hard on the hills."

"At the end it was a bigger group but we did a really good race as a team," she concludes. "The leadout from Lotte was really good. And the work from Christine Majerus and Marlen Reusser on the front meant I just had to finish it off!"