‘We put all our cards on the sprint’ – Lidl-Trek, Van Dijk analyse Paris-Roubaix final

Lidl-Trek has won Paris-Roubaix Femmes twice in its four-year history, but Elisa Balsamo came up short against winner Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) in the 2024 edition and was in tears after her runner-up finish, though she could find the positives in her result later on. 

In an interview with Cyclingnews after the race, Lidl-Trek’s sport director, Jeroen Blijlevens, said that Balsamo’s disappointment in her result shows how much she cares about performing at the Hell of the North.

“If you’re so close, then you’re really disappointed. How many times do you get in this situation in Paris-Roubaix? Next year will be different. I’m happy that she’s disappointed because when she’s so close, she has to be,” Blijlevens told Cyclingnews in the Roubaix velodrome.

Ellen van Dijk said that she was with Balsamo in the final, setting the pace in the group of six that also included Marianne Vos (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), and Amber Kraak (FDJ-SUEZ), leading them into the velodrome. Lidl-Trek was the only team with more than one rider in the lead group.