Ladies Alana Castrique is the Belgian U23 road champion!

This afternoon Alana Castrique (22) sprinted to the third place at the Belgian National Championships in Waregem. She conquered the national U23 title with this performance!

Lotte Kopecky won the elite title. She attacked from the peloton with less than ten kilometres to go and then soloed to her second consecutive national title. Julie Van De Velde jumped away at the end and finished second. Alana Castrique won the sprint of the peloton for the third place. She was the best U23 rider of the pack and claimed the Belgian title in that category! In the sprint, Alana left among other Shari Bossuyt, Nathalie Bex and Jolien D’hoore behind her.

“I played it well today”, says Alana Castrique. “I had to wait and wait and wait until the sprint. That was the best way for me to achieve my goal. And it worked! I had confidence to sprint. I turned up the home straight in a perfect position and could win the sprint of the peloton. This makes me very happy.”

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“When Lotte attacked, I immediately knew I shouldn’t try to follow her”, tells Alana Castrique. “That wouldn’t have been possible. We couldn’t reel her in neither, she was just too strong. I am happy for Lotte, she deserved this win.”

“This title proves that hard work pays off and it’s really nice to have this on my palmarès. It gives me confidence for the Lotto Belgium Tour, which starts on Tuesday. On 17 July I will take part in the Belgian Time Trial Championship for U23 riders. Julie De Wilde will be a tough opponent, also today she was strong, but I will do my utmost best to try to grab that title too.”

Photos: Photo News