After two wins in two years at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, US squad Trek-Segafredo left the start of the third edition in Denain hoping for their third triumph in a row.
Until Alison Jackson lifted her hands in triumph in the Roubaix velodrome on Saturday afternoon, only Trek-Segafredo riders had held the famous cobblestone trophy aloft at the end of the race.
Lizzie Deignan and Elisa Longo Borghini won with long-range solo attacks in 2021 and 2022, though it was clear early on that a third victory would have to come via different methods at the 2023 edition.
In the end, it wasn't to be for the defending champions. A combination of crashes and a lack of cooperation in the chase behind the victorious breakaway resulted in Trek-Segafredo having to cede the cobbled crown and settle for Lucinda Brand's 12th place.
"It was very complicated," Brand reflected on the velodrome infield after the race. "It was a very big group.
"On all the cobbles it was hard to make a difference because it was all headwind so in the wheel it was much easier and there were so many sprinters. We tried to get away, but the front group was really strong.
"To be honest, when I heard the names I predicted them to win it if we didn't catch them. So it was a very strong job of the breakaway and we were just too late."
Of course, a mid-race crash which saw Longo Borghini slip on the muddy cobbles of Pont-Thibault while leading a group of favourites in the chase behind the break didn't help.
The Italian slid to the ground with the group two minutes down and 37km left to race. The subsequent pileup saw SD Worx duo Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes also involved, while Brand was unable to stop in time, somersaulting over the top of the riders lying in front of her.
While at that point, catching the leaders before the line looked plausible, but it would only be an uphill battle from then onwards. Brand and Longo Borghini would eventually make it back into a chase group which reached the finish line just 12 seconds down, but the damage was done long before the velodrome.
"I was thinking that I never flew that high so that was kind of a shock," Brand joked later. "But surprisingly so far I kind of feel OK.
"Of course, it was something very important but also I have to say that it was also half of a staring contest there. Not everyone was keen to work, and they were still looking. But maybe [the crash] also made it so that people started to ride faster."
Brand also said that having a large group in the chase made it a tough situation for her and her team, with sprinter Elisa Balsamo set to work early on while numerous rival sprinters could enjoy the ride further back in the group.
"In the back there were maybe too many sprinters who were sitting on and that doesn't motivate other people," she said of the efforts to catch the break. "In the end, if you give such a big group more than five minutes then you expect that nobody is going to help you.
"Of course, we would have loved to have seen a different result, but if we had come with this group to the finish, I'm not sure that it would've made any difference because me and Elisa had tried a lot already and we are definitely not the fastest from this bunch."
Trek-Segafredo did have Lisa Klein in the move up the road, along with representation from most major teams, barring Jumbo-Visma.
However, Brand said that with Klein having suffered an illness in the week and with such a selection of strong teammates still behind, it made sense to lead the chase.
"We had a good situation with someone in front, but Lisa had been a little bit ill, so we couldn't gamble everything on that," Brand said. "With so many strong riders behind it would be a shame to be so far behind. So, we wanted to come closer, and we tried to be with a lot in the final but in the end it didn't come our way. I think we did a good job and I hope everyone came in safe.
"It wasn't easy, and I mean we still won the first two editions. We tried to win the third one. It didn't work but we did what we could so we can't blame ourselves."
