Ladies Thalita de Jong takes a nice second place in GP Oetingen

Thalita de Jong spent over 60 kilometers in the breakaway today in Oetingen. With 80 kilometers to go, she rode away from the peloton with Christine Majerus (Team SD Worx-Protime) and Franziska Koch (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL). "That's early in the race, I know", de Jong laughs. "But we managed to stay ahead for a long time, with a maximum lead of a minute and ten seconds, and we worked well together."

15 kilometers before the finish, the trio got caught, but the Dutch rider remained consistently attentive at the front of the race. "I felt really strong today and could even position myself well at the front after that long breakaway. I just kept believing. In the end, five of us managed to open a gap towards the finish line. I obviously knew it would be tough against Lorena Wiebes, she's the best sprinter in the world, but I went early and only Lorena managed to pass me."

De Jong is consistently achieving top ten finishes- including a fifth place in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as a highlight- in the past few weeks and is particularly happy with her podium today. "I even noticed that Lorena was almost surprised by my early jump. Sprinting from 300 meters is early, but it became my tactic nowadays (laughs). Jump early and keep pushing. I rode a very active race, put myself in a good position, managed to win the Proximus mountain prize along the way and was in the right place at the right time. Then you can be more than satisfied."

Picture: GP Oetingen