Kathrin Schweinberger scored a tenth-place finish at the sprint-friendly Scheldeprijs one-day classic in Belgium.
Atop the Factor ONE aero road bike, the Austrian champion avoided crashes in a chaotic final at the end of the 130.3 km race to Schoten. She could also count on strong teamwork from Katia Ragusa, Wiktoria Pikulik, Yurani Blanco, Silvia Zanardi and Maggie Coles-Lyster in the finale, with the Canadian going on to place 13th.
“The team did a good job in positioning us for the last cobbles, which was a crucial moment as attacks went from there on,” says Schweinberger. “I lost my position on the big road, but Katia brought me back towards the front, then I had Silvia leading me from three to one kilometer to go through the bunch. I trusted her wheel 100%, and she did an amazing job.”
However, the 29-year-old will rue the fine margins in bunch sprints that prevented her from delivering a higher result in the sun-bathed Antwerp town.
“I had to accelerate twice as I was a bit blocked, so for sure not the outcome we were hoping for, but I had good legs and the teamwork of today gave me a lot of confidence.”
A crucial part of three laps around an 18 km loop in Schoten, in the final third of the race, was a stretch of cobbles on Broekstraat. Although by no means as treacherous as what the peloton faces in France at the weekend, positioning well to follow and/or shut down moves was paramount, and something Schweinberger excelled at.
“We knew that every lap we had to be on the coobles in the top 15,” she says. “Wiktoria, Yurani and Katia did really good work every time. The team was focused and strong when it was necessary.”
Although not the desired result, the team can count themselves thankful, with Blanco finishing after an earlier crash, and Coles-Lyster navigating the dirt to stay upright and away from a mass pile-up. Regardless, there are still lessons to be learned.
”We can definitely learn from today that we are strong when we ride as a unit,” says Schweinberger. “Personally, for my sprint, I have to make sure I‘m more up front so as not to be boxed in.”
All focus now shifts to the crown jewel of the Spring Classics, Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift on April 12. Keep it Human Powered Health Cycling in the coming days for exclusive behind-the-scenes access to our team, our race tech setup, previews and insight from Magnus Bäckstedt.
Scheldeprijs results
1 KOOL Charlotte – Fenix-Premier Tech 3:03:02
2 VEENHOVEN Nienke – Team Visma | Lease a Bike ”
3 BALSAMO Elisa – Lidl – Trek ”
4 GILLESPIE Lara – UAE Team ADQ ”
5 CONSONNI Chiara – CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto ”
6 VAN ‘T GELOOF Marjoleinm – Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi ”
7 LUNDMARK Clara – Minimax Cycling Team ”
8 VERHULST-WILD Gladys – AG Insurance – Soudal Team ”
9 FIORIN Sara – Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi ”
10 SCHWEINBERGER Kathrin – Human Powered Health ”
13 COLES-LYSTER Maggie – Human Powered Health ”
Photos: GettySport and Oskar Scarsbrook
