Elisa Longo Borghini confims great form with dominant victory in the last test ahead Tour of Flanders: "I just went all in and believed in the win"

Perhaps a bit in the shadow of the men's Dwars door Vlaanderen where Visma filled the headlines, women also set out Across the Flanders. Among the main favourites, there was one in a class of her own - Elisa Longo Borghini.

The UAE Team ADQ rider was invincible today. Longo Borghini first shredded the peloton on Eikenberg and later rode away with 30 kilometers to go. Behind, the struggling Lotte Kopecky eventually caught up with the chasing group and won the sprint for second place while Elisa Balsamo rounded off the podium.

"Today, this was a victory I really wanted to achieve. We have faced many challenges in recent weeks, with my teammate Silvia Persico suffering a rib injury, Karlijn Swinkels dealing with a physical issue in the last few days, and today we started with only five riders," she lists the obstacles in the run-up to Dwars door Vlaanderen in post-race impressions.

"But my teammates did an incredible job," Longo Borghini highlights the effort of her UAE Team ADQ colleagues, despite all the difficulties. "Febe Jooris and Hannah Kunz supported me from the start alongside Tereza Neumanova, and then in the final, Sofia Bertizzolo gave me great help by positioning me perfectly on the Eikenberg, where I could attack."

While some managed to stay on her wheel over Eikenberg, when the Italian champion accelerated again with 30 kilometers to go, nobody was able to respond anymore. Longo Borghini blasted past the remnants of daily breakaway and suddenly found herself alone at the 25 km mark. "From there, I just went all in and believed in the win. Today, I wanted to win to show everyone that despite the difficulties we have faced, we are a strong team, we are a united team, and we are true racers."

When Longo Borghini switched gears on Eikenberg, Lotte Kopecky completely fell out of the frame. The SD Worx - Protime star had no response and was happy to just follow wheels to hang on in the battle for second place where she still showed enough speed in the sprint.

"I don't know how it happened, but I had a difficult moment," she admitted at Sporza. "Luckily I'm stubborn and I refuse to give up, but there were still many moments where I thought, 'What am I doing here?'"

Is Kopecky worried about the Tour of Flanders now? "It's not a great feeling, but I have to stay calm. Maybe I needed to dig deep again today. I can only hope that Sunday will be better and that today was just a bad day on the bike.”