Juliette Lovace (Team DSM) stood at the top of the podium of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas and received the purple jersey and GC winner's trophy for her second place finish in the final fourth stage, which made her the overall winner. She said, "I want to thank the whole team and everyone at team headquarters, because after four days of racing, this is my first big win." [I also want to thank the girls and the staff. We overcame all difficulties together. I also think about my boyfriend, my whole family, my coaches, my grandma who always watches the race on TV, my friends, so many people! Lovace, who finished fifth in the Iturria women's race the week before, performed well throughout the four days of the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas. Supported by Liane Lippert, Florche Mackay, and Elise Uichen, Labusse stayed out of trouble in the echelon on the first stage and finished in the peloton on the second stage.
On stage 3, he crossed the 1.5km finish line to Ojo Guarena in 7th place, losing time to Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ) and Evita Mujic (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and pre-race favorite Demi Vollering (Team SD Walks) by 34 seconds.
"The girls did a great job. Frangi (Koch) and Florche were really strong and closed the gap to the break on the climbs and descents. They trusted me and I trusted myself. Esme (Peperkamp) and Liane followed me on the climbs. On the climb, when Vollering attacked, Labusse was following Vollering. In the end, LaBruce could not keep up with the Dutch all-rounder, but he won the overall by 17 seconds. The GC win at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas is Labouse's first individual win at the Women's World Tour level and her fourth at the elite level. She previously won a stage of the Czech Republic's 2.2 stage race, the Tour de Feminine, in 2017 and the opening team time trial of the Giro Rosa in 2018.In 2020, Labouse won the French elite and U23 ITT championships, but since then remained winless. But her development trajectory continued upward: the U23 jersey at the 2019 Giro Rosa showed that Lovace is a promising athlete in mountain stage races, and she proved this by finishing seventh and eighth at the 2021 Giro Donne and Ladies Tour of Norway, respectively. With a GC win in Burgos and a good showing in a classic race, Labouse has now emerged as an athlete to watch on the big stages.
Comments