Teamwork makes the dreamwork, and dreams indeed came true for Lidl-Trek after a masterclass on the wet roads of Flanders.

Let’s watch it again, again and again!!

The perfect teamwork by @x_shirin leading @ElisaLongoB to the victory 🏆#RVV24 #RVVwomen

pic.twitter.com/CZFVHJsXCT

— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) March 31, 2024

Elisa Longo Borghini took the win over Kasia Niewiadoma after a tactical race, her second win in de Ronde and her first de Ronde win with the Lidl-Trek team. Joining Elisa on the podium is teammate Shirin van Anrooij, who worked perfectly with Elisa in the finale to ensure a win for the team.

WHAT A TEAM !!!
🥇 @ElisaLongoB
🥉 @x_shirin #RVV24 #RVVwomen pic.twitter.com/72ev6EJakF

— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) March 31, 2024

Nothing in Flanders is certain, and the conditions at this year’s event made sure of that. With hellish weather, crashes, zero-traction climbs, and one of the strongest fields of riders yet seen, 2024 was nothing to laugh at.

Excitement for Lidl-Trek reached a fever pitch at 12 KM to go, when after attacking from a chase group on the Patenberg, Elisa and Kasia caught the lone leader of the race, Shirin van Anrooij. From this point, the group of three held off a furious chase of five, which were seeking to catch the very dangerous group of Lidl-Trek and Kasia.

With 1KM, Shirin opened up the leadout to the finish line. Kasia chased and came around Shirin, only to see Elisa make her final move, pass Kasia, and take win for Lidl-Trek by a bike length. The chasers came home just nine seconds later, close enough to see Elisa win, but not close enough to be a factor in the finale.

Riders will now take a well deserved rest, and look forward to what looks to be another great monument in Paris-Roubaix!

Race reactions

Elisa Longo Borghini

“Winning this race means a lot to me. I would like to thank my trainer, Paolo Slongo, and my husband, Jacopo Mosca, and the entire Lidl-Trek team for how they supported me today. The girls were incredible out there today, as always, as was the support from the staff in the car. I had a small crash and a flat tire and I went down, and they were supporting me in a super nice way. In the end, finishing first and third in a race like this is incredible. This win is also for Lizzie. She crashed on the first cobble section and, unfortunately, broke her arm so hopefully we put a smile on her face.

“I like hard races but I am not necessarily a very quick rider but in these scenarios, when the race is long and people are tired, what comes out is your efficiency and the freshest always wins and I still felt good at the finish. In the last three kilometers, I knew we still needed to push really hard and we couldn’t play ‘the game’ just yet. But, in my mind, I knew what I needed to do. I told myself, ‘you feel good, you win this!’

“Shirin was amazing today though, she came back and attacked immediately. I kept reminding her that with 30 seconds you can win Flanders because we were roommates this week, and I showed her a little bit of when I won in 2015 and they told me that if you are out of the Kwaremont with 30 seconds you can win and so I kept telling that to her. SDWorx were riding hard though until the bottom of there and so the gap was getting smaller and smaller. Then on the Paterberg, I heard from the car to just go and to make it hard because numbers are always good for us.

“Finally, we were in the group of three with Kasia, who I knew was also keen to go, and we could make it to the finish line together. Shirin was waiting for me and we know that our strength as a team is the fact we race so well as a team and this is something that we planned together.”

“I am a different rider and this is a totally different win to my first one here. I am in the tricolore jersey, I am a more mature woman. I was just a kid when I won in 2015 and now I can realise it more and I am more conscious of what I am achieving. Every victory is special because nothing can be taken for granted in cycling, neither in life.”

Shirin van Anrooij

“I am certainly not disappointed, I think third is very good for me. The goal was to win with the team and we won it. It was very tough. I expected that too. Although I made it extra difficult for myself by being too far away on the Koppenberg and having to do a long chase. Of course, then I also attacked but, I just really enjoy it when it’s a really tough race. The rain and the length made it more fun.

“I get that it might look crazy on TV, I initially thought that Kasia had closed the gap, but, in the end, it was the right tactic. I was really going through it myself. I really trust the tactical choices of Jeroen Blijlevens and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg from the car. On the one hand, I did think about winning, especially when I still had a gap after the Paterberg. I didn’t expect that at all, but it quickly became clear that I had to wait for Elisa and Kasia. Then I realized that I had to wait for Elisa, because she was the fastest. You don’t know if I would have been able to stay ahead and ultimately we won, which for us is the most important thing. There are two of us on the podium, so a very successful day.”