Discover the highlights of the Flèche Wallonne Femmes 2024 !
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© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
More Information on:
https://www.la-fleche-wallonne-femmes.be/en
https://www.facebook.com/FlecheWallonne
https://twitter.com/flechewallonne
https://www.instagram.com/classiquesardennes/
© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
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SportTranscription
00:00 Welcome to the 27th edition of La Fleche Val Enfamme.
00:04 Demi Follering lines up as the defending champion,
00:07 but she's yet to win in 2024.
00:09 The course changed a lot.
00:12 Like, last year we had a lot more hard hills in the final,
00:16 so this is something totally different from this year now,
00:18 but I'm curious to see how this will...
00:22 Yeah, what this will change.
00:23 Lidl Trek are putting their faith in the Tour of Flanders winner,
00:28 Elisa Longo Borghini.
00:29 It's going to be a very tough day.
00:33 Also, by the way, the teams will be riding,
00:36 so, yeah, we are ready to do it.
00:38 I just hope that everything goes according to plan
00:42 and that I can remain patient
00:44 and then do my best climb up the Mille-de-Huy.
00:48 At 146km, this is the longest ever edition of La Fleche Val Enfamme,
00:55 with the women finishing after the men this year.
00:58 There will be two laps of the final circuit,
01:00 featuring the Cote d'Arref and the famous Mille-de-Huy.
01:03 Three riders got away early in today's race,
01:15 although by the time they reached the Mille-de-Huy for the first time,
01:18 their trio was going down to two.
01:20 Sarah Martine and Julie van der Velde dropping Elena Hartmann.
01:25 The two leaders making their way to the line
01:27 with around 40 seconds on Hartmann
01:29 and nearly three minutes on a couple of chasers,
01:31 Grace Brown and Paulina Royakas.
01:34 SD Werks and Canyon Schramm are up at the front of the peloton.
01:39 They were at three minutes and 30 seconds at this point.
01:43 Martine and van der Velde are continuing to plug away
01:46 and the question was there, could they hold on?
01:48 Both hoping to add to their single career win.
01:52 Hartmann was soon caught and dropped by Brown and Royakas.
01:55 As the peloton further back began to up the tempo in earnest
02:00 and seriously eat into the breakaway's advantage.
02:03 Well, by the Cote d'Arref, they had almost caught the Brown group.
02:14 The two leaders still resisting on this short but punchy climb.
02:21 As a couple of illustrious names decided to shake things up
02:24 in the bunch, Rihanna Marcus, Elisa Longa Borghini
02:27 and Kasia Niewiadoma testing their rivals' legs.
02:30 But things soon calmed down again.
02:32 Royakas then had another go, fighting her way up to the front
02:44 as the original breakaway was caught.
02:46 And after another surge, she was joined by three more riders,
02:49 Longa Borghini, Elise Chabbe and Lotte Kopecky.
02:53 But they were soon caught by the chasing bunch as well
02:56 before Marcus unleashed a big attack.
02:59 The former Dutch champion leading the way onto the Muur
03:01 for the final shootout.
03:03 As we turn the corner and the road starts to rear up,
03:07 we've now got 1,400 metres to go.
03:10 The Dutch champion is now in the lead.
03:12 The rear up, we've now got 1,400 metres to go.
03:16 A little bit of a surprise that she's still in the mix.
03:24 This is our solo leader.
03:26 Three hours and 52 minutes of racing,
03:28 starting in the pouring rain, going to be game over.
03:31 And Dami Vollering is at the front very early.
03:34 Is she riding for Lotte Kopecky?
03:37 We still have Vollering, Longa Borghini,
03:41 Moorman Pazio ahead.
03:42 Now we have three.
03:43 Vollering has ridden the entire peloton,
03:46 apart from two other riders, off her wheel.
03:48 And now we start to see the attacks,
03:51 and Vollering can't respond immediately.
03:53 And it's Nibiadoma who hits first.
03:55 Has she gone too early?
03:57 Vollering tries to fight her way back onto the wheel.
04:00 Kashi Nibiadoma going for glory.
04:03 Is she finally going to win the Fleschmuller?
04:06 Vollering is on the wheel,
04:08 trying to fight her way back into this one.
04:11 Elisa Longa Borghini getting ready to strike.
04:13 And here comes Elisa Longa Borghini.
04:16 But it's Kashi Nibiadoma.
04:18 Kashi Nibiadoma is going to get the victory
04:21 she's been searching for for so long.
04:23 Vollering fights back,
04:25 but finally it's Kashi Nibiadoma of Canyon Tram,
04:29 who wins the Fleschmuller,
04:31 ahead of Vollering, ahead of Longa Borghini.
04:33 What a moment for Kasia Niewiadoma.
04:38 After what must feel like an eternity,
04:40 she has won a road race again,
04:41 almost five years after her last triumph
04:44 at the Women's Tour 2019.
04:46 The Pole did win the Gravel World Championships last year,
04:49 and that no doubt gave her the belief
04:51 to conquer the Mur de Huy.
04:52 I really hope that with that victory,
04:57 I inspired a lot of people
04:59 who are pursuing their dreams for so long,
05:01 because I've experienced a lot of failures,
05:04 a lot of second, third place,
05:05 and I never stopped believing
05:08 that as a team we can win another race.
05:11 Niewiadoma taking her 19th career win
05:15 ahead of Vollering,
05:16 who's still waiting for that first victory of the season.
05:19 Longa Borghini, Evita Music and Moolman Passio
05:22 rounding out the top five.
05:23 Niewiadoma becoming the first Pole
05:27 to win Fleschwallenfam,
05:29 and after Marianne Vos won Amstel Gold Race last weekend,
05:32 we now look forward to the third chapter
05:34 of the Ardennes Classics on Sunday,
05:36 Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
05:38 Do join us then.
05:39 (LIEGE-BASTOGNE-LIEGE)
05:40 (whooshing)
05:43 (whooshing)