(Montreal) Olivia Baril (Movistar) was well positioned at the start of the final climb of the Flèche Wallonne, but in the end, it was the legs that did the talking. Wednesday in Belgium, the cyclist from Rouyn-Noranda was unhooked around halfway through the terrible ascent of the Mur de Huy to then be the 12e to reach the finish.
The Pole and second in the recent Tour of Flanders, Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon/SRAM), won ahead of the Dutch Demi Vollering (SD Worx – ProTime) and the Italian Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) at the end of this event of 146 kilometers.
Vollering pushed the pace for almost the entire climb and the Quebecer was unable to stay in the group of six leaders in a passage at 19% incline. The cold weather meant that we could see the breath of the athletes who were racing on the final climb, where the leading trio broke away with 250 meters to go. Niewiadoma went solo 100 meters later and the 2023 Tour de France champion was unable to stay with her.
“I tried to do my best and it resulted in a 12e place. It would have been the fun to have a top 10 or even a top 5, but it’s not that bad. The conditions were really difficult today (Wednesday), but I still felt good,” admitted Baril, who was 32 seconds behind.
“It was a great race for us and we had Sara (Martin) in the breakaway all day, which gave us peace of mind in the peloton. We were well placed at all times and it was good team work,” added the woman whose best ranking on this course before Wednesday was a 16e place obtained in the 2022 edition.
This collective work continued once the ordeal was over. In a video broadcast on the Movistar team’s X account, we could see Baril looking down and receiving a hug from his teammate Mareille Meijering, who boosted his morale.
The three other Quebecers registered, Simone Boilard (Uno-X Mobility, +45 seconds), Clara Émond (EF Education-Cannondale, +48 seconds) and Magdeleine Vallières (EF Education-Cannondale, +1 minute 10 seconds) respectively finished 12th.e23e and 32e.
Olivia Baril will be at the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, still in Belgium.
“We are not yet forecasting good weather and I like that. I think I will have a good race and have good legs,” concluded the 26-year-old athlete.
Note that the British Stephen Williams (Israel – Premier Tech) won the men’s sprint event ahead of the Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa – B & B Hotels). No Quebecer started the race.