So, with the Tour of Flanders over for another year, although we will keep circling back to it because so many legends have won and legendary things happened in ‘Flanders Finest’, the attention of the cycling world, and of ours, turns towards next Sunday, and Paris-Roubaix. Arguably the most monumental of the 5 monuments.
Today’s photo shows Lizzie Deignan winning the first ever Paris-Roubaix Femmes with an 80-kilometre solo effort that was a masterclass, given in extreme conditions.
The first women’s Paris-Roubaix wasn’t just difficult to race; it was difficult to put on. The first edition should have been held in 2020 but was postponed for over a year because of the COVID 19 lockdown. It was 0ctober 2021 before the world had freedom enough to do it, but for the riders that was their problems just starting.
Heavy rain in the preceding days left the Hell of the North awash with water and slippery mud. The race became a crash-fest with riders falling on the cobblestones in ones and twos, and even in whole groups at a time. Deignan escaped the mayhem.
She attacked before the first cobbled sector, and it was the best thing she could have done. It made winning physically harder, and her strength and athleticism brought her victory, but her bike handling ability and tactical awareness were there for all to see.
By riding alone, she wasn’t involved in other rider’s accidents. Instead, she had to rely on her own skill, and even though that is prodigious, she had moments when her bike fish-tailed underneath her, but each time she was able to bring it back.
With chaos prevailing behind, controlled relentlessness, physical strength and total focus brought Deignan victory. Even though her lead never extended beyond 2 minutes and 39 seconds, crashes and setbacks meant no chase could be sustained for long. She held on to over a minute of her lead by the famous finish on a rain-soaked Roubaix Velodrome.
A fantastic effort, mastery of conditions and mastery of some of the best riders in the world. No less than the great Marianne Vos finished second, with Elisa Longo Borghini third. It was fabulous.
