October 2/21 13:31 pm - Deignan Wins Inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes

Posted by Editoress on 10/2/21
 

Elizabeth Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) delivered a supreme performance on a historic day, soloing to a maiden triumph in the André Pétrieux velodrome in the first edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes. The British star went for the very early move and covered the 29.2km of cobbles on her own, alone at the front! A winner of Monuments like Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Ronde van Vlaanderen, world champion in 2015, also a winner of major one-day-races like La Course by Le Tour, the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Strade Bianche Donne, Deignan survived all the traps of a muddy Hell of the North to take victory ahead of the Dutch icon Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma Women Cycling Team) and her Italian teammate Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo).

Photos: Fabien Boukla

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A star-studded field of 129 participants took to the course in the early afternoon, with the recent world champions Elisa Balsamo (Valcar-Travel & Service) and many other contenders for the first ever edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes. It wasn't raining at the beginning, but a strong wind blew from the south, pushing the riders along the first three sectors before the race turned west around km 50.

Reusser and Niewiadoma go down, Deignan goes early
After a few breakaway attempts on the local circuit in Denain, the early attackers were caught ahead of the first cobbles of the day. An early crash lead to the withdrawal of Marlen Reusser (Ale' BTC Ljubljana) and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing), two of the heroes of the recent world championships in Flanders.

As the field reached the first cobbles, from Hornaing to Wandignies (km 33.9), Elizabeth Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) went on a very early move, and nobody follows her. The Brit star, a world champion in 2015 and a winner of most of the greatest races on the women's calendar, said she had been to the Hell of the North "as a fan", and she made the most of this maiden participation at the front of the race, opening a gap of 2 minutes on the first sectors of the day.

The race explodes in Mons-en-Pévèle
Movistar, SD Worx and Jumbo-Visma were among the teams most involved in the chase. Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) attacked on the cobbles leading to Bersée (55km to go), and the bunch exploded in Mons-en-Pévèle, the first 5-star sector of the day.

With the wet and muddy conditions, Elisa Balsamo was among the riders who went down, with just 13 riders remaining in contention behind Deignan, including Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team) and Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) who took long turns at the front.

Deignan holds off Vos
The gap is down to 2:15 when Deignan hit one of the most demanding sections of the day: Camphin-en-Pévèle (4 stars) and then Carrefour de l'Arbre (5 stars). The British champ survived a near-miss on the cobbles. Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo), Christine Majerus (SD Worx), Aude Biannic (Movistar) and Sarah Roy (Team BikeExchange) were not so lucky, going down as they tried to follow an acceleration by Marianne Vos.

The Dutch icon had a gap of 1:55 to bridge in 17km. As she exited the Carrefour de l'Arbre, with 15km to go, she had already cut Deignan''s lead to 1:15. But the Brit had enough energy left in the tank to ride to Roubaix on her own and triumph with a gap of 1:17 on Vos. Elisa Longo Borghini put another Trek-Segafredo rider on the podium (1:47) as she narrowly fended off Lisa Brennauer (+1:51).

"At the start of the day, our two leaders were Ellen van Dijk and Elisa Longo Borghini and I was meant to be one of the last helpers. I knew positioning would be essential, and they had some problem ahead of the first cobbles. I was in the front and I took that speed onto the cobbles because I really had to sprint to be there. I looked behind me at the end of the cobbles and I had a gap. So I thought as long as I'm up front, they have to chase me. I rode at 75% until I had 1 minute and then I commit 100%. But I wasn't thinking about victory until the end. We had such a strong team and as long as I was in front, it was an insurance policy. But it definitely wasn't the plan. In men's cycling, it's classed as a Monument. We are getting more and more opportunities, and to be the first winner on such a race definitely has to be up there [among my greatest wins]. It was completely surreal [when I entered the velodrome]. This morning, I was here as a teammate, I never dreamed of winning myself, so to find myself alone after such an effort, it was an incredible moment. I really savoured that final lap. We are part of history now, there's no going back."

Lone Canadian entry, Canadian National Champion, Alison Jackson (Liv Racing) finished 24th at 6:20 back.

Results from the first Paris-Roubaix Femmes in France