Carys Lloyd outsprinted the top favourites including Lorena Wiebes to win the Ronde Van Brugge and her first ever professional victory.
The Movistar rider, just 19, launched a long-range sprint past a boxed-in Wiebes in the final few metres of the race. The early attack surprised a crash-marred bunch, allowing the Brit to finish ahead of Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) to take the win.
Lloyd spoke to reporters at the finish line about her initial reaction to her surprise victory: "We spoke about it on the bus as a little bit of a joke, and my mechanic was like I’ll take you to the Lego store and you can buy anything if you win, as a joke," she said.
"I was like ooh f***, I’ve actually won.
"With about 500m to go all the sprinters were just left with no leadout, and it was just everyone for themselves," she explained of the race.
The race had built towards the eventual bunch sprint, pushing through strong winds, hail and rain to reach the finish in Brugge. With attacks throughout the race neutralised by SD Worx-Protime in defence of their star sprinter, Wiebes, the win seemed to be predetermined.
But a crash inside of the last five kilometres shook up the peloton, breaking up the sprint trains and taking out Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Elynor Bäckstedt (UAE Team ADQ).
"I saw 200m to go, and I was like OK, I just have to go for it and see what happens," Lloyd said of her decision to attack earlier than the race favourites. "I mean it worked."
Of the Lego victory prize, Lloyd has big plans: "Maybe the most expensive thing I can find, maybe see if I can make him as broke as possible," she joked.
A race of firsts, Lloyd's victory in Belgium isn't only the first professional win of her career, it is also the first time Wiebes has lost a bunch sprint since 2024.
Lloyd became the third youngest Women's WorldTour winner ever, just behind fellow Brit and Movistar rider Cat Ferguson.
