Shari Bossuyt (AG Insurance-Soudal) took a hardfought but clear triumph in the Belgian Nationals Road Race on Sunday, outpowering leading favourite Lotte Kopecky (SDWorx-Protime) in a small group sprint for her first ever senior title.
The 137-kilometre course starting in Antwerp and finishing in Brasschaat saw multiple options go clear, and it was only in the closing part of the course that it became certain a bunch sprint, of some 30-35 riders, would definitively materialise.
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Given the rollercoaster recent past, Bossuyt’s win ahead of Kopecky and Lotto-Intermarché’s Sandrine Tas carried huge importance for the 25-year-old, who was in tears after the finish.
“There are so many emotions… that I am crying here,” she said, according toNieuwsblad..
“This surpasses everything. I hope this is the start of something very beautiful. I was already super happy with that stage in the Vuelta and that this… I have no words for it.”
“I had actually already put that difficult period behind me, but on a day like today, it all comes back to the surface. I shouldn’t cry… but still. Getting to wear that jersey in the Tour de France is going to be very beautiful.”
2026 Belgian National Championships WE race: a split begins to form (Image credit: Getty Images)
How it unfolded
Early attacks allowed first Jan Dobbelaere and the veteran Loes Sels (Belco-Van Eyck) to get away, but only with a minimal advantage and they were caught three laps out. The first of the late attacks, made by Bossuyt’s teammate Julie Van de Velde (AG Insurance – Soudal) also failed to work out.
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However, Van de Velde’s move sparked a much more dangerous mass move, containing defending champion Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal) and no less than three Fenix-Premier Tech racers: Lotte Claes, Julie De Wilder and Xaydee Van Sinaey in a group of nine. This break was powerful enough to stay away for nearly 20 kilometres, and even when it was, Ghekiere took advantage of a cobbled sector to try and stay away.
Ghekiere’s move was then backed by Tas – later third – and young Belgian sprinter Fleur Moors (Lidl-Trek), and Moors went for it again in the final kilometres. AG Insurance-Soudal were working hard for a sprint by that stage, though, and a few minutes later, Bossuyt paid off all their hard work.
“When Justine Ghekiere was away with Tas and Moors, I told her not to ride along, because that was a dangerous situation,” Bossuyt later told Nieuwsblad.
“When everything came back together, it worked out well for me. Moors had already done quite a bit of work at the front, so I just kept an eye on Lotte. With 250 meters to go, I launched my sprint. I felt I was in control.”
2026 Belgian National Championships: the final podium for the elite women’s road race (Image credit: Getty Images)
