Irish riders Imogen Cotter and Megan Armitage have been
riding well in Belgium, with Cotter taking a podium placing this week while her
compatriot was sent the wrong way while leading the same race.
The two Irish women were riding a circuit race in Scheldewindeke, East Flanders, where Cotter (Keukens Redant) got clear of the field and went on to finish in 2nd place.
Armitage, who has been riding very well on the home scene for UCD Cycling Club this year, got clear alone and was about one minute up on the main field when disaster struck.
Now riding for Rupel Cleaning Champion Team in Belgium, she was sent the wrong way by a race official and was then not permitted to rejoin the race after going off course, which was a very disappointing end to her day.
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The 90km race was run off on a 7.5km circuit, with 12
laps for the riders to complete. After Armitage had been sent the wrong way,
Cotter got clear after four laps and wasn’t seen again by the peloton.
Claudia Jongerius (Bingoal Chevalmeire), who has been in breakaways
in major races such as Ronde van Vlaanderen, initially attacked hard and got a
gap.
As he worked away on her own out front, Cotter decided to
go after her; attacking the bunch and getting across to Jongerius.
When they joined forces they worked well to open a
race-winning gap on the bunch behind, going to the finish together to fight it
out for the victory.
The more experienced Jongerius got the upper hand in the gallop to win, with Cotter taking 2nd place. Another Belgian-based Irish rider, Michelle Geoghegan (Isorex), finished in the bunch.
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