Canyon-Sram have announced the team's squad for Sunday's Tour of Flanders, with Elise Chabbey and Kasia Niewiadoma leading the way alongside Chloe Dygert as they search for the team's first victory in the Belgian Classic.
The trio will be accompanied in tackling the 163km Monument by teammates Tiffany Cromwell, Soraya Paladin, and Alice Towers as they take on the might of SD Worx-Protime and Lidl-Trek.
Niewiadoma will be Canyon-Sram's main contender for success, having finished among the top 10 five times in eight appearances, including a fifth place last year.
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She heads into the race off the back of a fourth place at Strade Bianche at the start of the month, having taken seventh place at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, her only cobbled race so far in 2024.
"Flanders is one of the few monuments on the women's calendar with a long history. That makes the race iconic and unique for the riders competing and the spectators watching," Niewiadoma said when Canyon-Sram confirmed their line-up for Sunday.
"Our team has never won this race before, and it's something we're after. We want to win Flanders. It would be a fantastic way to say a big thank you to all of our supporters and team partners."
"The race takes us through challenging sectors that, over time, naturally make the peloton smaller due to fatigue and the constant pressure of needing to be in the front.
"Being Easter weekend, a lot of people use those days to celebrate cycling and the atmosphere around the race is always buzzing! So many well-known cobblestone sectors and climbs in the final keep the race exciting and fun to watch, as fans never know when the real action will start.
Chloe Dygert will be making her Tour of Flanders this weekend. The US racer's top-level cobbled experience amounts to the 2022 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and participations at the Classic Brugge-De Panne (where she finished sixth), and Gent-Wevelgem this year.
Cromwell said that the team came away from the latter disappointed, having been unable to fully support Dygert in the final. She added that it gives them extra motivation this weekend.
"Gent-Wevelgem last weekend didn't go as planned," Cromwell said.
"The level was high, and the race was super hard. We walked away disappointed, not having enough numbers in the final to support Chloe. It highlighted the need to be ready for anything at any point in the race.
"It put the fire in the belly of our team. We have a different group of riders for Flanders, and it's a different race. Our squad has a lot of experience and several cards to play. We are motivated to avoid repeating our mistakes. We can bring home the win when we have our best race. I'm confident we can."
Elise Chabbey, meanwhile, has a career-best 11th to her name in Flanders, though has only started the race on two occasions.
The Swiss rider, who has broken through at the top level since joining Canyon-Sram in 2021, has top 10s at the Setmana Valenciana and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to her name this season.
"Flanders and Paris Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift are by far the biggest cobbled classics," Chabbey said.
"As they say, the holy week of cycling is our stage to perform on, and we're looking forward to it. There is always a fantastic atmosphere and winning it with our team would be a great achievement."
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