Gent-Wevelgem cycling 2021 – Marianne Vos sprints to victory as Elisa Longo Borghini denied
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Updated 28/03/2021 at 19:01 GMT
Vos chalked up her latest win with a superbly-timed sprint at Gent-Wevelgem as she held off Lotte Kopecky and Lisa Brennauer to take victory. The 33-year-old, who recorded an incredible 232nd road victory, was part of a huge group that swallowed up Elisa Longo Borghini and Soraya Paladin in the closing stages.
Highlights: Vos triumphs after timing sprint to perfection
Jumbo-Visma's Marianne Vos produced a superb sprint to snatch victory at the tenth edition of Belgian classic Gent-Wevelgem.
It had initially looked as though breakaway double-act Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek–Segafredo) and Soraya Paladin (Liv Racing) would scrap for the win between them. Longo Borghini - who wears the Women's World Tour leaders' jersey - launched a long-range attack with 18km to go as the race entered the final section down from the climbs and into the headwind to Wevelgem.
The Italian duo created a gap of up to 25 seconds, but the chase group fought on and the pair were swallowed with 500m to go.
With 300m to go, Vos fought to the front of the pack and launched her sprint to the line which, typical of the 33-year-old, nobody could match.
Lotte Kopecky of Liv Racing and Lisa Brennauer of WNT Pro Cycling finished second and third respectively.
The peloton remained as one for much of the 141km race but was split with 37km to go as the riders climbed the famous Kemmelberg, which has a maximum gradient of 15 percent and includes a 300m section of cobbles.
Longo Borghini attacked on the climb with Vos and supported by team-mate Ellen Van Dijk, with the move splitting the peloton in two and leaving a front group of around 30 riders following the descent.
Britain's 22-year-old Anna Henderson launched an attack off the front group with 30km to go, gaining up to 15 seconds on the group, but eventually she was caught and in the midst of forming echelons to battle the headwind, Longo Borghini attacked and only Paladin could follow.
It would be Vos who would steal the show, however, ahead of Kopecky and Brennauer. The latter duo were also on the podium in Gent-Wevelgem last year, finishing in the same order, with Brennauer's highest position in the race second in 2016.
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