Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) took a second consecutive victory at De Brabantse Pijl Dames, confirming she has recovered from the concussion she suffered during the Tour of Flanders.
The Italian National Champion rode an aggressive race and attacked alone on the Moskesstraat climb with 11km to race. She opened a 25-second gap and the chasers failed to close the gap on the successive Holstheide climb and the rise to the finish line.
Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) won the sprint for second place as Longo Borghini celebrated victory with two fingers in the air. Femke Gerritse (SD Worx-Protime) was third, with 14 riders in the case group that finished six seconds down.
Longo Borghini crashed hard during the Tour of Flanders and was forced to spend a night in hospital and followed the UCI's concussion protocol. She was declared symptom-free, physically ready, and mentally motivated to race again by UAE Team ADQ. She will also race Sunday's Amstel Gold Race, the mid-week La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège next Sunday.
Longo Borghini took her 50th career victory at the Dwars door Vlaanderen and appears on form for the hillier Ardennes Classics.
"I don't really look at numbers but it's nice to win it twice," Longo Borghini said.
"For me health comes first and performance in second place. I felt well, so really wanted to give it a go," she said, explaining her return to racing after her concussion.
"It's a nice race and I really like the combination of the hills and the cobbles. It's also a nice transition from the cobbled Classics to the Ardennes.
"I felt good and with the team we planned for an aggressive race. We really wanted to try our chances. I bridged to the attack because I knew I'd have Brodie Chapman with me and she's really good for the team.
"I knew that there was quite a big group behind me and that many teams had more than two riders, so I wasn't sure if I'd make it. But I looked at my power and I said: 'Okay, if I can keep this power, they need to go the double to catch me.' I stuck to that effort and went to the finish full gas."
How it unfolded
The 125.7km race included a 60km ride to the finishing circuits and then climbs of the Moskestraat, Holstheide and S-Bocht in Holstheide on two different loops.
There were few attacks on the ride east below Brussels but there were crashes, with Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) one of several to go down.
A dangerous move finally went away as the riders went through the finish area for the first time after 66km. Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ) forced the split and was joined by Jade Wiel (FDJ-Suez), Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco), Steffi Häberlin (SDWorx-Protime), Eva van Agt (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Anne Knijnenburg (VolkerWessels). Their lead fluctuated at around half a minute for a long time as the team leaders pondered their tactics in the peloton.
On the penultimate climb of the Moskestraat, Vos and Longo Borghini surged across to the break but the Italian attacked again just before the catch and was the only rider to make it, while Vos and others dropped back.
The move was eventually caught by a few select chasers led by FDJ-Suez and SD Worx-Protime but it was a selective race.
Riejanne Markus made an attack on the last lap but she was caught and then Longo Borghini took off on the Moskestraat. When the gap closed, Longo Borghini went again on the Holstheide and managed to open a near 30-second gap.
Van der Breggen picked up the chase and other riders tried to help in the final kilometres but Longo Borghini was clear and determined to keep it that way.
On the S-bend climb up to Overijse, Longo Borghini pushed on, sensing victory. The chasers could see when they reached the top but she was close to the line and could celebrate a return to racing and to victory.
Results
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