Women’s Tour of Flanders: Annemiek van Vleuten fends off chase in solo victory

It was Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) versus the world in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, and van Vleuten won.

In a dramatic combination of racing tactics and brute strength, the Dutch superstar attacked on the Paterberg and fended off a fierce chase to win the Belgian classic in brilliant domination.

Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) rode to second out of a chase group, with Grace Brown (Team BikeExchange) rounding out the podium with third.

“I think I was waiting for nine years after my 2011 victory,” van Vleuten said. “It was so cool to rewatch that and then do it again. Especially for my new team, Team Movistar, so I’m super, super proud. The girls worked super hard for me and I was the number one leader, so to finish it off like this, I think we’re going to celebrate really big tonight.”

Van Vleuten attacked midway up the Paterberg to take a slender lead to a handful of chasers at the sharp end of an intense race. The Dutch superstar — who came to form to win Dwars door Vlaanderen last week — nursed a five-second lead with 13km to go against a group of elite seven chasers.

Also read: Van Vleuten starts new chapter at Movistar

With numbers in the chase group behind her, van Vleuten kept pouring it on, and De Ronde was reduced into a tense tug-of-war of a solo time trial versus the competitive interests of the chasers.

PURE JOY 💪💙 @AvVleuten #RodamosJuntos #RVVwomen pic.twitter.com/uqiuRcD7ZO

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) April 4, 2021

“I came here with dreams of winning, but to be third here in one of the biggest races, I’m happy,” Brown said. “It’s hard in the situation, because the person off the front is going full-gas, and everyone in the chase doesn’t want to go more than the person next to them. We had a strong chase, but it wasn’t strong enough to bring her back, so that was a bit disappointing.”

The 2020 European road champ — who spent much of the winter training on the Teide volcano in Spain — dangled off the front just a razor-thin 10 seconds as the race hit the flats on the run back into Oudenaarde.

Van Vleuten, who last won De Ronde in 2011, revealed tremendous strength in the closing flat run toward the line. Despite SD Worx and FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope having numbers, the chase never seemed to fully gel. Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) and Marta Cavalli (FDJ) were not pulling through, causing disruption in the pursuit. Longo Borghini later said she was under team orders not to chase as Deignan and others were in the chase group behind.

Van Vleuten hit the red kite and had time to savor her hard-fought victory a decade after winning it before.

Anna van der Breggen breaks it up on Oude Kwaremont

The leaders sized each other up ahead of the Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg double in the decisive closing 20km to go.

Anna van der Breggen set a scorching pace up Oude Kwaremont to fracture the leaders on the iconic climb. Only about seven riders could follow her surge. Grace Brown (Team BikeExchange) and van Vleuten shadowed her every pedal stroke. A few big names were gapped, including Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo).

Also read: Why Dutch riders are dominating the peloton

Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) was chasing desperately after getting caught up behind the bunch at the base of Oude Kwaremont. Brown jumped out of the front group with 16km to go, putting pressure on everyone behind her. Van Vleuten was the first to bridge out, and the pair powered toward the Paterberg just a few seconds ahead of the chasers.

https://twitter.com/Movistar_Team/status/1378738057650769925

Big move from Audrey Cordon-Ragot

The race spiced up in the final hour of racing. Van Vleuten dropped some haymakers on the Kanarieberg that fractured the ever-shrinking front group with about 50km to go. The pack fractured under the pressure, with the lead group reduced to about 50 riders left to play for the spoils.

Not wanting to leave it too late, Trek-Segafredo took the race by the scruff of the neck. French national champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot jumped clear before the Taaienberg, and soon carved up a promising gap. The favorites were marking each other, and Cordon-Ragot held a 40-second lead as the leaders headed toward the Kruisberg with less than 30km to go.

Vas-y @CordonRagot!!! 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 #RVVwomen #RVV21 pic.twitter.com/JLZVZe7XuF

— Ben Atkins (@benatkins_uk) April 4, 2021

Liv Cycling sent Soraya Paladin in pursuit when Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) jumped near the top of the Kruisberg, but wasn’t given any rope. 

Cordon-Ragot refused to give up and nursed a 20-second gap at 20km to go as she powered toward the Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg combination. The catch was soon on, and the race entered its decisive phase.