Nine years after she first won the race, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) returned to the top step of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, this time resplendent in the Italian tricolore.
The 32-year-old, who struggled with injury and illness last season, looked back to her best, sprinting beyond Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-Sram) in the final meters to seal the win for Lidl-Trek.
Longo Borghini was set up in the finale by her team-mate, Shirin van Anrooij, who broke free with 21km to go, but was caught and turned selflessly to help the Italian. The Dutchwoman's reward was the final podium place, her best Monument result to date.
"It's just amazing," Longo Borghini said afterwards. "Shirin was a motorbike. In the end, we can be proud. First and third in a race like this is a huge team performance."
Lidl-Trek's success came at the expense of SD Worx-Protime, whose leader Lotte Kopecky, the winner of the previous two editions, struggled to stay in front. On the Koppenberg, with 45km to go, the world champion was one of a number of riders who had to dismount and walk, so tough was the rain-soaked climb.
"My back wheel was slipping," said Longo Borghini. "I knew from doing some mountain bike in the winter that I needed to keep the traction. I just took my own speed, and I saw that Kopecky was not there and we could do it."
The victory, then, looked poised for Van Anrooij, who led solo onto the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, the final two climbs. Over the crest of the latter, Longo Borghini attacked with Niewiadoma, closing the gap to her team-mate and working with her towards the line.
"This was a team move," the Italian explained. It was one that paid off, too.
How it happened
A crash after just 10km, involving a handful of the key riders, shook the race up early on Sunday afternoon. The pile-up brought an abrupt end to the day for former Tour of Flanders champion Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek) and Marlen Reusser (SD Worx-Protime), who both hit their heads and were forced to abandon. Deignan was later diagnosed with a broken arm, Reusser with a broken jaw.
Race favourite Kopecky was also held up by the crash, but did not come down. Still, having avoided the early scrape, misfortune would come for the world champion.
On the Koppenberg, the seventh of 12 hellingen climbs, she was forced to climb off her bike and push, victim to the slippery double-figure gradients. The Belgian was then distanced shortly afterwards, falling over 30 seconds behind the race leaders, and struggling to keep the pace in the chasing group.
Ahead, her SD Worx-Protime team-mate Demi Vollering also became unstuck. When Niewiadoma launched a characteristic long-range attack, 27km from the line, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion struggled to chase.
The front of the race was then blown apart by Van Anrooij. The diminutive Dutchwoman, known for her cyclo-cross abilities, stormed clear with 21km to go and put daylight into her rivals on the approach to the Oude Kwaremont. Once there, she rode solo up the 2km slog, battling horizontal rain, cheered on by the masses. Fellow cyclo-cross stars Puck Pieterse (Fenix Deceuninck) and Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) chased in tandem pursuit.
Van Anrooij took a slender 16-second advantage into the foot of the Paterberg, the final climb of the day. By the top, her gap was only a handful of seconds. Then it was gone. The 22-year-old was joined on the run-in to Oudenaarde by her team-mate Elisa Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma, and the trio began swapping through turns.
With the finish line just 200m before them, Van Anrooij opened her sprint first. The move forced Niewiadoma to launch hers too, allowing Longo Borghini to come out of the Polish rider's slipstream and round her on the line. "We know that our strength is in the team," the Italian said afterwards. "I was just a kid when I won the race back in 2015. I think I can realise it a bit more, I'm more conscious of what I've been achieving."
Many expected the tactical masterclass would come from SD Worx-Protime, the most dominant team of recent years. Instead, the victory was stamped with the Lidl-Trek seal.
Results
Tour of Flanders 2024: Antwerp > Oudenaarde (163km)
1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 4-16-04
2. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram
3. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Lidl-Trek, both at same time
4. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +9s
5. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime
6. Puck Pieterse (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, all at same time
8. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +15s
9. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jaco, +1-40
10. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, at same time
