VAN DER BREGGEN’S FINAL
RONDE VAN VLAANDEREN 4 April | Belgium | 1.WWT/ 1.UWT
After world champion Anna van der Breggen continued her form from the end of last year to solo to victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, few would bet against her performing well at the Ronde in April, in her swansong season. The women’s edition of Flanders dates back to 2004 and Van der Breggen won here in 2018. But in a sign of how unpredictable the racing can be in recent years, only two riders have ever won it twice - Mirjam Melchers and Judith Arndt. Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, Coryn Rivera, Lizzie Deignan, Elisa Longo Borghini, Annemiek van Vleuten and Marianne Vos are among other recent winners, and all should also start.
With the first women’s Paris-Roubaix just a week away, the stars might have one eye on lifting that famous cobblestone. But the Ronde is hardly a warm-up race, and will be tackled like the monument it is.