After two wins in two years at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, US squad Trek-Segafredo left the start of the third edition in Denain hoping for their third triumph in a row.
Until Alison Jackson lifted her hands in triumph in the Roubaix velodrome on Saturday afternoon, only Trek-Segafredo riders had held the famous cobblestone trophy aloft at the end of the race.
Lizzie Deignan and Elisa Longo Borghini won with long-range solo attacks in 2021 and 2022, though it was clear early on that a third victory would have to come via different methods at the 2023 edition.
In the end, it wasn’t to be for the defending champions. A combination of crashes and a lack of cooperation in the chase behind the victorious breakaway resulted in Trek-Segafredo having to cede the cobbled crown and settle for Lucinda Brand’s 12th place.
“It was very complicated,” Brand reflected on the velodrome infield after the race. “It was a very big group.
“On all the cobbles it was hard to make a difference because it was all headwind so in the wheel it was much easier and there were so many sprinters. We tried to get away, but the front group was really strong.
“To be honest, when I heard the names I predicted them to win it if we didn’t catch them. So it was a very strong job of the breakaway and we were just too late.”
Of course, a mid-race crash which saw Longo Borghini slip on the muddy cobbles of Pont-Thibault while leading a group of favourites in the chase behind the break didn’t help.
The Italian slid to the ground with the group two minutes down and 37km left to race. The subsequent pileup saw SD Worx duo Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes also involved, while Brand was unable to stop in time, somersaulting over the top of the riders lying in front of her.
While at that point, catching the leaders before the line looked plausible, but it would only be an uphill battle from then onwards. Brand and Longo Borghini would eventually make it back into a chase group which reached the finish line just 12 seconds down, but the damage was done long before the velodrome.
“I was thinking that I never flew that high so that was kind of a shock,” Brand joked later. “But surprisingly so far I kind of feel OK.
“Of course, it was something very important but also I have to say that it was also half of a staring contest there. Not everyone was keen to work, and they were still looking. But maybe [the crash] also made it so that people started to ride faster.”
Brand also said that having a large group in…
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