Gaining Experience on the Mur de Huy

The La Flèche Wallonne Femmes and its iconic Mur de Huy awaited the women’s peloton this Wednesday. Team Mayenne Monbana My Pie saw their Polish rider, Karolina Perekitko, finish in 31st place overall.

Under bright sunshine, the Mayenne-based ProTeam aimed to build on its recent momentum. Karolina Perekitko’s latest results had been encouraging. Well positioned within the peloton, the Polish rider held on during the final circuit, only losing contact with the favorites’ group 5 kilometers from the finish, on the Côte de Cherave. Finishing 31st at the line, the performance leaves mixed feelings, between satisfaction and disappointment.

Jean-Christophe Barbotin, team manager : “The real satisfaction of the day is Natalie, who embraced her role as a domestique, positioning herself well, staying at the front of the peloton, and holding on. Overall, I’m disappointed today because we’re struggling to do better than 31st, even though we clearly have the ability to. We missed the breakaway, which is a disappointment. Still, we’re learning every day, so we’ll take the positives. Next up: Liège-Bastogne-Liège.”

Karolina Perekitko, 31st : “On the final lap, the pace was full gas the entire time. On the Côte de la Cherave, there was a small crash in front of me—I had to brake completely and restart my effort. On the final climb, I gave it everything. I went a bit too early and another rider passed me at the end. Still, it was a good day.”

Results :

31 - Karolina Perekitko

68 - Natalie Quinn

83 - Marine Allione

96 - Alice Coutinho

98 - Allison Mrugal

Photo credit : Arnaud Guillaume / Mayenne Monbana My Pie