Milan-Sanremo Donne
The second edition since its revival of the Milan-Sanremo Donne was significantly marred by a high-speed crash. A brave but futile breakaway was caught as the peloton swept onto the slower slopes of the famous Cipressa. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney tried time and again to break clear but was reined in by Kim Le Court. Eventually a selection was made, with Lorena Wiebes the most important rider to have been distanced, leaving Lotte Kopecky as SD-Worx's only card to play.
As they approached the crest of the Cipressa, Lieke Nooijen launched took off on an opportunistic flyer. Niewiadoma was once again the rider animating the race with a determined chase, but on the rapid descent from the Cipressa she slid out on a blind corner. The Polish Champion slammed into a low concrete wall before being hit by several riders unaware of the crash. Debora Silvestri was catapulted over the side of a significant drop, falling several feet and slamming painfully onto the concrete slip road beneath.
The shock of the crash took some of the sting out of the chase, but in the final kilometre of the Poggio, Puck Pieterse tore the race open. An aggressive burst of power swept Noemi Ruegg and the looming figure of Lotte Kopecky clear with her onto the descent. They were joined by Gasparrini and Wlodarczyk with a five-woman sprint ensuing. All five launched their sprint simultaneously, but the famous power of Kopecky was too much for the others to match, proving once again how dangerous it is to take her to the line.
Women’s Ronde van Vlaanderen
The 23rd edition of the women’s Ronde van Vlaanderen was dominated by a strong performance from FDJ-Suez in favour of their superstar Demi Vollering.
A huge crash in the peloton on the fast approach to the Koppenberg took down pre-race favourites Marlen Reusser and Kim Le Court, before Franziska Koch poured on the pressure on the climb. An elite group formed out front, with Vollering glued to her teammate’s wheels and Zoe Bäckstedt, Puck Pieterse, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and three-time winner Lotte Kopecky in tow. The two riders from FDJ-Suez tried time and again to make a decisive selection, managing periodic separation on the Oude Kruisberg-Hotond combination but achieving little more than to soften the legs of their rivals.
That is until the race hit the Oude Kwaremont. As Vollering put the afterburners on, the effect of Koch’s relentless attacks was immediately obvious. Nobody could match Vollering’s seated acceleration, and on the Paterberg’s 20% gradients the gap was made insurmountable, securing Vollering her first Ronde title. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Pieterse attempted to chase down the European Champion, but without luck as Ferrand-Prévot was forced to settle for consecutive second places at the race since her return to the road, whilst Pieterse took an impressive third.
Paris-Roubaix Femmes
Kranziska Koch’s hard work in favour of Vollering the week before was rewarded with a stunning victory at the Queen of the Classics. It was from the Mons-en-Pévèle sector that the race began to ignite, with Koch setting a ferocious tempo on the cobbles.
Last year’s winner, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wouldn’t suffer quietly however, and after some determined work from Visma Leaseabike, launched a mammoth attack on the tarmac which took teammate Vos, Koch and Blanka Vas with her. It was quickly established that the winner would come from this group as they developed an advantage of over a minute on the rest of the field.
The Hungarian Vas simply couldn’t handle the pressure applied by Koch, who would hit the front on each cobblestoned sector, her sublime handling skills letting her skip across some of the roughest roads around as though she were gliding over freshly laid tarmac.
Time and again the German Champion would lay down a hammer blow, which only Vos could match. Yet each time it seemed as though Ferrand-Prévot had been permanently dispensed with, last year’s winner would desperately claw her way back to the pair to restablish Visma Leaseabike’s numerical advantage.
Isolated with two of the most lethal, and utterly ruthless riders in the history of the sport, you could have forgiven Koch for surrendering. Curiously, it was the German who continued to dictate proceedings, consistently attacking the two Visma riders who seemed content to simply hang on for a sprint in the velodrome.
As the trio entered the velodrome, Koch forced Vos around her outside, pushing the Dutch star up the steep bank. The German was therefore able to take the shorter, flatter line. She dug deep into reserves of steel she quite possibly didn’t realise she had, and launched a long, gruelling sprint. Vos, supreme winner though she is, couldn’t match this display of German grit, and Franziska Koch took the biggest victory of her career in a thoroughly deserved manner.
Amstel Gold Ladies
The 12th edition of the Amstel Gold Ladies race featured a stacked startlist, with former winners Marianne Vos, Demi Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma amongst the favourites.
Surprise World Champion Magdalene Valliers had a race to forget as an early puncture forced her into a forlorn chase back to the peloton. The three ascents of the Cauberg on the finishing circuit were once again decisive. Anna van der Breggen was amongst a plethora of riders who attempted to go long, but each attack was swiftly neutered.
The race winning move was finally made in the leadup to the Cauberg’s penultimate ascent, with Ninke Vinke of SD-Worx being joined by UAE Team ADQ’s Paula Blasi. The two managed separation, before the young Spaniard put the hammer down on the Cauberg, dispatching Vinke and quickly building up a significant lead. A disorganised chase from the group of favourites behind meant that even with Blasi briefly taking a wrong turn, the debutant would take just under a minute’s buffer into the final ascent of the Cauberg.
Blasi gritted her teeth, emptied herself and viciously pounded the pedals as she clawed her way up the climb. Even a massive attack from Niewiadoma and Vollering, two of the best climbers around was not enough to bring her back. Having only been added to the startlist the day before, Blasi took an astonishing victory on debut, and the first for a Spanish rider at the race. Thwarting the efforts of Niewiadoma and Vollering who finished second and third respectively.
