Wiebes came off the wheel of Australian national road race champion Sarah Roy - who had launched her sprint early - to come around and hold off the challenge of Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) to win the race.
Wiebes saluted with an emphatic fist pump, her first win of the year a triumph for the 22-year old sprinter who has already put together an impressive palmares over her young career.
“Today was very chaotic but it was a nice race,” Wiebes said. “There was wind in some parts but not enough to really make a difference. In the end, the sprint was also chaotic but it is nice to win this race.”
The first edition of the women’s Scheldeprijs with a 136.2km race that started and finished in Schoten. The field completed one large loop of 75km before tackling three local finishing circuits that included a short cobbled sector.
The early break was a significant one and included some major riders in Teniel Campbell (Team BikeExchange), Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT), Amalie Dideriksen (Trek-Segafredo), Alice Barnes and Lisa Klein (both Canyon-SRAM). It got shut down eventually, with the peloton largely staying together until they reached the local circuits.
At the 75 kilometre raced mark, Daniek Hengeveld (GT Krush Tunap) jumped away with a solo move and quickly gained an advantage. With 35 kilometres to go, she had more than one minute on the chasing peloton.
The lead wasn't to last and the main bunch caught Hengeveld inside the final 10km, with Letizia Borghesi (Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano) launching her own attack just as Hengeveld was recovered. Borghesi never gained more than a few seconds on the rest of the field, as the sprint trains lined up to position their chosen fast riders for the dash to the finish line in Schoten.
A lot of sprinters had a fair chance at the win, with a number of the top women launching from a similar position, but the speed of Wiebes told in the finale as she rounded Roy to take the win over Norsgaard with Elisa Balsamo (Valcar Travel) in third.
