After a day of racing marked by strong winds and steady attrition rather than headline attacks, the finale of Paris-Roubaix Femmes came down to an elite group of six in the velodrome, and it was the World Champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) who took the win from Elisa Balsamo, with Pfeiffer Georgi just nudging out Marianne Vos for the final podium position.
- With every early race move shut down partially by the wind and partially by the peloton, the race entered the first sector of pavé all together with Georgi’s DSM-Firmenich PostNL and Balsamo’s Lidl-Trek leading the charge. No one was keen to allow a breakaway to get an advantage after what Alison Jackson accomplished in 2023.
- SD Worx was present with Kopecky and Wiebes, and the World Champion was at the front for every cobbled sector, sometimes taking charge of the pace. She was alertly marked by Visma-Lease a Bike’s Vos and Balsamo every time.
- With 53 km to go a few of the strongest riders of the race – led by Kopecky, Vos, Georgi and Christina Schweinbeger (Fenix-Deceuninck) – found themselves with an advantage. The team to really miss the mark was Lidl-Trek, but they luckily had Ellen van Dijk ready to chase. The Dutchwoman caught the group of four just after the race started the five-star sector Mons-en-Pévèle. The new mom was in the best position at that point to lead the race over the 3 km sector.
- Van Dijk and FDJ-Suez’s Amber Kraak attacked with 25 km to go and were able to get a small gap, but for a three-time World Time Trial Champion, any distance is a good one. Still, the gap didn’t last and Kopecky, Balsamo, and Vos caught the pair with 18 km to go, with Georgi unable to keep the pace and chasing solo behind.
- Over the final five-star sector, the Carrefour de l’Abre, Balsamo briefly looked like she had a mechanical, in the end it was the legs that needed assistance, not the bike. The Italian was caught by Georgi and, largely off Georgi’s pacemaking, the two were able to catch the leaders to make it a final group of six.
- Van Dijk led into the velodrome for Balsamo, but in the end, it was Kopecky who had the best legs at the end of a hard race. The Belgian came around the outside of Balsamo and Vos and sprinted to an impressive victory.
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Brief Analysis
- There was a pretty impressive moment with 62 km to go: Kopecky started drifting to the back of the peloton, arm up, calling for service. When the team car eventually got to her she grabbed a tool from her team mechanic and tightened the bolts on her bars. When she was content she effortlessly got back to the front of the peloton within about 800 m, into third wheel, right as the peloton rode into a cobbled sector.
- Kraak’s first attack of the day was 67 km from the finish, still quite early in the race. She then tried again with 58 km to go, and again with 25 km to go. The Dutchwoman started her season with her new team FDJ-Suez by soloing to victory in the final stage of the UAE Tour.
- In the sprint, Kopecky was a bit boxed in. But the multiple World Champion track cyclist knew exactly how to navigate the final lap of the velodrome, and was able to come around the outside of her rivals and push through with extra speed for the win.
- Lidl-Trek had the numbers but also did a lot of work before the final. It would be impossible to say who worked the hardest throughout the race, but Kopecky, Vos, and Van Dijk are at the top of the list. Of the three, Vos was the one with the least amount of support from her team. Balsamo and Van Dijk had each other, and Kopecky had Wiebes, but once the race started to break apart in the final 70 km, Vos was the most isolated of the favourites. That could have played a role in her final sprint.
- According to Iris Slappendel, former rider turned motorbike commentator, the conditions on the ground were different from any other edition we’ve seen. The wind – tail, cross, and head – was the biggest contributing factor to the different race conditions, but the conditions of the sectors were also different.
- Over four different editions, Paris-Roubaix Femmes has now been won in four different styles, by four different nationalities. The race does not disappoint.
Quote of the day
Pfeiffer Georgi has been on the up the last few years and going into this year’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes she was labeled as an outside favourite. In the end, she managed third (outkicking Vos), and according to Georgi it may not have been the win but it still means a lot.
Some of these girls were my heroes growing up so to be in the front of Paris-Roubaix with them and to stand on the podium is crazy for me.
Pfeiffer Georgi after finishing third at Paris-Roubaix Femmes
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