Longo Borghini solos to victory in Overijse
Elisa Longo Borghini has won De Brabantse Pijl for the first time in her career. The Italian champion rode solo across the line, Demi Vollering was second some 40 seconds behind. The Australian Alexandra Manly sprinted to third place.
Under a bright blue sky, the starting pistol was fired in Lennik at 10:50 kicking off the 7th edition of the women’s De Brabantse Pijl. The riders were confronted with a 135km course with a finale in and around Overijse. There, four climbs of the Hertstraat, Moskesstraat, Holstheide and the S-bocht stood on the agenda.
After 20 km of racing, the early flight formed. The pair Molenaar (VolkerWessels) and Söderqvist (Lifeplus-Wahoo) upped their pace and created a gap with the peloton. Not much later, Labecki (EF Education-Cannondale) and Watts (Lifeplus Wahoo) joined the duo at the front. At the start of the first local lap in Overijse, 80 km from the finish, the leading group had a lead of nearly 4 minutes.
In the chasing pack, it was Vollering (SD Worx-Protime) who first tested her legs with 60 km to go, on the first passage of the Holstheide. The Dutch champion pushed hard, after which her team took the lead and significantly upped the pace in the peloton. Some 10 km later, at the start of the second local lap, Lidl-Trek took over the baton from SD Worx-Protime and it was Longo Borghini who accelerated away on the second passage of the Moskesstraat. Only her teammate Van Anrooij, Vollering and Kraak (FDJ-Suez) were able to keep up, but the four of them were unable to pull far away.
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Entering the penultimate local lap, the leading group still had a lead of about 30 seconds. From the peloton, Sofia Bertizollo (Team UAE ADQ) and Alessia Vigilia (FDJ-Suez) managed to cross to the front. And thus, we started the finale with a leading group of six. In that finale, things exploded in the peloton on the penultimate climb of the Hertstraat. Vollering again pushed hard and only Tour of Flanders winner Longo Borghini was able to get on her wheel. The duo were together at the front on the Holstheide.
In the penultimate passage on the S-bocht in Overijse, the Dutch champion again went full throttle, Longo Borghini reacted alertly and a tough Vigillia also hooked on her wagon. The three of them started the final local lap with a lead of about 15 seconds.
The decisive acceleration finally came from Longo Borghini, 7 km from the finish. The Italian pushed hard on Holstheide and now Vollering had to submit. Second by second, Longo Borghini rode further away and eventually finished solo on the Brusselsesteenweg in Overijse. Vollering ended in second place, 41 seconds behind the winner. Manly sprinted from the peloton to take third place.
