The men's Paris-Roubaix is next up on Sunday evening, with the livestream on SBS On Demand starting from 1855 AEST, and the SBS TV broadcast starting from 2130 AEST.
Longo Borghini counterattacked just as teammate Lucinda Brand and fellow attackers Lotte Kopecky (SD-Worx) and Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) were brought back into the fold, getting the jump on her rivals through the Templevue pave sector.
She looked near being caught at times, with her advantage dipping below 10 seconds on the Bourghelles a Wainnehain sector, but she was able to resist the chasers, and as the main group splintered behind, Trek-Segafredo maintained good numbers in the next group on road, hampering the pursuit.
Longo Borghini was able to extend her lead to a comfortable 35 seconds on entry to the famous Roubaix velodrome, securing the win in style with a yell of delight.
Kopecky secured second with a strong sprint, with Brand capping Trek-Segafredo’s triumph by sprinting to third and joining her teammate on the podium.
“It is just an unbelievable feeling,” said Longo Borghini. “It has been a very tough spring for me, I had sinusitis for a month and could not perform the way I wanted. I knew I was worth more than what I was performing, and it was also a little bit frustrating.”
Longo Borghini, had suffered from illness during the European spring, taking races off to return to full health for one of her major targets for the season.
“They (Trek-Segafredo) brought me here, and I was like ‘I don’t think I’m ready’, and they kept saying ‘you are more than ready, we know you can do it’, and I have to say that they were right,” said Longo Borghini. “With the sinusitis, I could not breathe, and in cycling, breathing is everything. I had to take one step back in order to take two steps forward; I skipped Amstel and Brabantse Pijl and took a course of antibiotics to get rid of the infection. And in the end, if I feel good, I win.”
The 124.7-kilometre Paris-Roubaix Femmes started in Denain, before the riders hit the cobblestone sectors for a total of 29.2 kilometres of pavé on the way to the Roubaix Velodrome.
Tanja Erath (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) was the most persistent riders of the early breakaway, but even she wasn’t able to reach the midpoint of the race, as the peloton set a formidable tempo on the cobbled sectors.
It was a race typical of past men’s editions of Paris-Roubaix, with riders suffering crashes and mechanicals in equal measure. Favourites Emma Norsgaard (Movistar Team), Marta Cavalli (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), Ellen Van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo), and Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) all had to battle their way back to the race.
One such incident saw Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) disqualified from the race after holding onto a bidon from the team car for longer than the race commissaires deemed fair.
With 53 kilometres to go, Kopecky attacked with Bastianelli following closely. Brand was able to bridge and the trio build a small gap that hovered at the 20 second mark.
They were eventually recovered on the Templevue pave, with Longo Borghini using the opportunity of the catch to launch her own move, catching out her rivals.
She quickly forged a 30 second lead, but she was dragged back steadily by the pace of SD-Worx, Canyon-SRAM and FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope.
On the sector from Cysoing to Bourghelles, SD Worx teammates Kopecky and Van den Broek-Blaak upped the pace, with a group of eight forming that closed the gap to nine seconds but never made the catch. After unsuccessful attacks by Van den Broek-Blaak and Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM), the group stopped riding again, seeing the next group rejoin, with Longo Borghini’s advantage restoring.
Kopecky again made the difference on Carrefour de l’Arbre, forcing clear a select group, but not able to catch the Italian champion, who kept a 20 second buffer. She was able to increase that advantage into the finish, finishing with an emphatic celebration over the line.
There were no attacks from the chase group in the final, and in the track sprint, Kopecky was fastest to take second place ahead of Brand and Cavalli.
The men's Paris-Roubaix is next up on Sunday evening, with the livestream on SBS On Demand starting from 1855 AEST, and the SBS TV broadcast starting from 2130 AEST.
