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Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE-ADQ) attacked with 10km to go to break the back of the peloton to solo to a comeback victory at Brabantse Pijl on Friday.
The Italian, back to racing after being sidelined with a concussion from a crash at the Tour of Flanders, blew up the bunch of the Moskesstraat cobbled climb late in the race.
“It’s nice to win it twice. It’s a very nice race and I like the combination of the hills and the cobbles,” the Italian said. “I like the climb, and it’s lucky for me. I felt very good, and we planned an aggressive race. We wanted to try our chances.”
An early group was reeled in to set up the fireworks in the final lap.
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) was caught out by the attack, and led the chase over the Holstheid climb with 7km to go to keep it close at about 20 seconds. Lidl-Trek, Jayco-AlUla and FDJ-Suez helped to pile on.
‘I wanted to give it a go’
The Italian national champion had some unfinished business at the race that transitions from the cobblestoned classics to the hillier Ardennes courses looming next week.
A heavy crash at the Tour of Flanders saw her DNF there and forced her onto the sidelines with a concussion for Paris-Roubaix Femmes.
She took matters into her own hands, and lit up the final lap.
Despite having a group of 20 chasing her, Longo Borghini hit the final wall with a gap of 12 seconds for the defending champ.
That was all she needed.
“I wasn’t sure I would make it, because there were many teams with more than one rider chasing, but when I saw my power, I thought they would really have to go to the double to catch me,” she said. “I felt quite well [after concussion] because health comes first. Since I felt well, I really wanted to give it a go.”
Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), racing for the first time since San Remo Women and fresh off an altitude camp at Sierra Nevada, could not match the explosiveness of the finale.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) won the bunch sprint at 6 seconds back, with Femke Gerritse (SD Worx-Protime) rounding out the podium.
