As it happened: Breakaway sprints for victory after chaotic edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen Women

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of Dwars door Vlaanderen!

This is the 7th UCI edition of Dwars Door Vlaanderen for women. The race has been won in various ways by a range of different riders including sprinters like Chiara Consonni and Lotta Henttala and time trial specialist Ellen van Dijk as well as Annemiek van Vleuten and current defending champion, Demi Vollering. 

After her third place at Strade Blanche earlier this month Vollering has been training at altitude with her teammate, Blanka Vas. In a press release from the team Vollering is quoted as saying: “I like to fit in altitude training during this period. I already did that in my first year with Team SD Worx-Protime, so this is the fourth time I have used this method. In this training stage you can work on your endurance for another period and I notice that I was able to take another extra step. I'm heading towards the big classics with a good feeling. By not racing for a while, I am now even hungrier at the start. I am looking forward to the first big classics.” 

Vollering also added that she hoped for a hard race “that plays into the hands of our team. The strength of the team was also the reason I was able to make the difference on Nokereberg last year. Normally it is too short for that, but if it becomes a battle of attrition, one demarrage there can make the difference. I also hope to start the most important part of my classic spring right away well now as well."

The Dutch national champion forms part of a stacked SD Worx - Protime team for the race including world champion Lotte Kopecky and European champion Mischa Bredewold as well as Niamh Fisher Black and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak.

SD Worx - Protime aren’t the only team bringing a strong squad to the race, however. Lidl-Trek have proven themselves to be a serious match for the Dutch team so far this season and line up at Dwars door Vlaanderen with Elisa Longo Borghini, Lucinda Brand, Lizzie Deignan, Shirin van Anrooij and two-time DVV winner Ellen van Dijk as well as Brodie Chapman.  

Vollering isn’t the only rider who took time away from racing after Strade Bianche. Marianne Vos, who has had a strong start to the season after a tumultuous 2023, makes her return to racing at Dwars door Vlaanderen alongside cyclocross world champion Fem van Empel making her 2024 road season debut.

15 minutes to go until the riders will roll out of Waregem for the neutral start! 

The Human Powered Health team have been out to watch the men's race which started this morning. You can follow live text updates from that race here. 

While we wait for the start let's see who else is here today as the peloton prepare for this weekends Tour of Flanders. 

Fem Van Empel’s cyclocross rival, Puck Pieterse will also line up in Waregem for her team, Fenix - Deceuninck. The 21-year-old has had an impressive road season thus far with two podium finishes at Ronde van Drenthe and Trofeo Alfredo Binda as well as 7th in the sprint at Gent-Wevelgem last weekend.

Elsewhere, UAE Team ADQ bring former winner Chiara Consonni whose teammates Silvia Persico, Karlijn Swinkels and Eugenia Bujak were active and aggressive at Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, can the Italian take a second win? 

Movistar’s Emma Norsgaard and Floortje Mackaij were also determined to break the race up on Sunday and tried several attacks before being brought back by Trek and SD Worx. They will be hoping that something sticks today. 

In terms of the route, the peloton have seven cobblestone sections and nine climbs to contend with across 129.9km today. The first climb comes after the peloton have raced just under 30 km with the Varentstraat cobbled sector coming shortly after. 

The crowds are out in Waregem! 

The riders have rolled out for the unofficial start 

129.9 km to go

The riders have 4km of neutral before the flag drops 

Official start has been given!

130 km to go

The first attack of the day came from Lea Lin Teutenberg of Ceratizit - WNT and Monica Greenwood of Coop-Repsol but was quickly shut down. 

Attack from Camilla Rånes Bye of Coop-Repsol

115 km to go

Bye really said..."bye" she has a small gap of five seconds 

111 km to go

Shirin van Anrooij of Lidl-Trek suffers a flat tyre 

Peloton is all together. 

105 km to go

The peloton are about to reach the first climb of the day, the Hellestraat. 

All together over the Hellestraat as they head towards the cobbles of Varentstraat

100 km to go

Some riders are starting to struggle with the pace 

There has been a split in the peloton with the leading group at 20 seconds 

95 km to go

There has been a further split and the race is now in three groups 

91 km to go

The next climb, Volkegemberg, is approaching! 

Groups one and two have joined together while what is now the second group are 30 seconds back 

80 km to go

It looks like Lidl - Trek were instrumental in forcing the split in the peloton 

The gaps between the two groups is now 35 seconds 

Crash for Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) 

55 seconds between group one and two now with Lidl-Trek and FDJ SUEZ controlling the race 

73 km to go

The peloton are now climbing the Berg Ten Houte 

Unfortunately, Ruth Edwards as abandoned following her earlier crash.

All still together in this front group and the pace is looking pretty calm. 

70 km to go

The peloton riding over the Holloweg sector 

The peloton are approaching the Kanarieberg as Lizzie Deignan of Lidl-Trek takes to the front 

Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) attacks! 

Lotte Kopecky chases Pieterse down 

The attack from Pieterse has drawn out a small group containing Kopecky, Niamh Fisher-Black and Mischa Bredewold of SD Worx - Protime, Elisa Longo Borghini and Lizzie Deignan of Lidl-Trek, Marianne Vos of Visma - Lease a bike, Audrey Cordon - Ragot of Human Powered Health, Arlenis Sierra of Movistar and Thalita de Jong of Lotto Dstny Ladies.

The leading group have a 17 second gap 

62 km to go

The race has been neutralised 

The reason for the neutralisation is unclear at the moment however we are hearing reports that the Nokereberg and Hotondberg have been removed from the race

We are hearing that the reason the race has been neutralised is due to an 'Incident ahead of the race'. Riders are still stopped. 

Lots of chatting and pointing from various race officials but no update as to how long the race might be stopped for 

Some very cold-looking riders as they stand around waiting for the race to re-start. Some are adding layers and taking gels and bottles. 

Confirmation that the neutralisation is due to an accident between an organisation vehicle and a men's team car meaning the race will need to be re-routed. 

The race is still at a standstill. 

It looks like things might be about to get moving again 

Riders are shedding layers and the flag is out of the commisaire's car 

We are hearing that the race will re-start in the next five minutes 

We are rolling! 

The flag has been dropped and the race is back on! 

All together. 

The km to go graphic now says 45km to go thanks to the diversion 

45 km to go

Fenix Deceuninck and FDJ SUEZ are driving the pace 

Image from the neutralisation 

The race is approaching the Mariaborrestraat 

The pace is high! Lizzie Deignan of Lidl - Trek leads 

The peloton are on Ladeuze. 

Attack from Yara Kastelijn of Fenix - Deceuninck! Lizzie Deignan marks her 

39 km to go

Mischa Bredewold of SD Worx comes to the front 

Fem van Empel now attacks for Visma Lease a Bike with her rival Puck Pieterse on her wheel 

Pieterse has strung out the group and there are gaps forming over the top of the climb but she can't get anyone to work with her 

38 km to go

Pieterse continues to drive the pace at the front of this front group 

The race is split into around three groups 

Pieterse is keen to keep this move going but few others are coming through 

Pieterse's teammate Yara Kastelijn comes to the front now 

Lotte Kopecky comes towards the front of the group which has a 13 second gap to the chasers 

Group one and two are back together 

35 km to go

Deignan comes back to the front for Lidl - Trek alongside Brodie Chapman 

Attack from FDJ SUEZ 

The pace has slowed slightly. FDJ SUEZ are at the front of the peloton. 

The much-reduced peloton are approaching the next cobbled sector of Doorn 

The group is much smaller now but all of the pre-race favourites are present 

Lidl Trek are controlling the front of this race, their multi-coloured jerseys are amassed at the front of the bunch. 

30 km to go

Lucinda Brand puts in a huge turn to split the race up 

Elisa Longo Borghini takes over 

Puck Pieterse, Marianne Vos and Emma Norsgaard are also present in the small group that has formed as a result of Trek's work 

There's no representation from SD Worx in this group and they are chasing hard behind 

The group is: Longo Borghini, Van Anrooij, Pieterse, Norsgaard, Vos, and Letizia Paternoster 

28 km to go

Lotte Kopecky is forced to try and bridge across on her own 

The front group are working hard together and Kopecky has yet to make it across!

26 km to go

Kopecky has made it up to the front group 

Van Anrooij is driving on

Mechanical for Demi Vollering (SD Worx - ProTime) 

Very slow rear wheel change for Vollering 

The Nokereberg is fast approaching! 

24 km to go

The front group are working well together, can they make it all the way to the finish? 

The gap between the leading group and the chasers is 15 seconds 

Van Anrooij putting in a huge effort on the Nokereberg

The Herlegemstraat is coming up. The group now has a 17 second gap. 

21 km to go

Paternoster comes to the front now and the gap has gone up to 23 seconds 

Front wheel change for Fem van Empel 

27 seconds for the leading group now 

All of the riders are rolling through, some doing harder turns than others, however. Will we see an attack soon? 

Movistar, who are one of the few teams to have missed this move, are chasing alongside UAE Team ADQ who also lack representation in the front group. 

18 km to go

32 seconds for the leading group who are working well together 

Approaching the final 15 km this front group now have a 38 second lead!

UAE Team ADQ and Movistar are working hard together behind, but will it be enough to bring this strong group back in the next 15 km? 

The gap has come down slightly to 30 seconds. The pace is high in the chase group behind as Movistar continue to chase with the help of UAE Team ADQ and Team dsm 

Attack from Shirin van Anrooij! Marianne Vos goes with her 

12 km to go

Paternoster and Pieterse chase but Kopecky refuses to work while Longo Borghini of course sits on. 

Van Anrooij and Vos have a 14 second gap ahead of Pieterse, Paternoster Kopecky and Longo Borghini 

Kopecky puts in an effort to chase 

On this long stretch of road the chase group have both front groups in their sights 

Kopecky is doing all of the work to chase Vos and Van Anrooij down as Longo Borghini sits on her wheel to disrupt the chase 

8.6 km to go

Pieterse and Kopecky are now sharing the work 

The second group aren't making much of a dent on the gap to Vos and Van Anrooij which is holding at 15 seconds 

Kopecky continues to chase hard but the gap is growing now to 21 seconds.

5.5 km to go

Attack from Elisa Longo Borghini in G2

Kopecky looks to Pieterse to help with the chase but the 21-year-old shakes her head 

Paternoster bridges to Longo Borghini 

Kopecky is working to close the gap to Longo Borghinni and Paternoster but Longo Borghini attacks again!

It looks like Van Anrooij has communicated to Longo Borghini that she is not confident that she can beat Vos and the Italian is attempting to bridge.

3 km to go

Kopecky and Pieterse are closing in on Paternoster and Longo Borghini but Longo Borghini launches again!

Both groups of chasers now have the leading pair in their sights 

Kopecky and Pieterse catch Paternoster and Longo Borghini and Kopecky attacks straight over the top

Paternoster follows but Pieterse cannot as Longo Borghini gives chase with the Dutch rider on her wheel. 

1.8 km to go

Will the front of this race come back together in the final kilometre? 

The second group look at one another as Kopecky takes up the chase 

Van Anrooij is not working with Vos 

1.1 km to go

Attack from Pieterse from the chase group as they go under the flamme rouge! 

Pieterse is caught 

The second group look at one another, it seems the winner will be either Vos or Van Anrooij. The older rider tightens her shoes as they turn onto the finishing straight. 

Vos leads out the sprint and Van Anrooij comes close but Marianne Vos takes the win! 

Letizia Paternoster wins the sprint for third place!

A first ever Dwars door Vlaanderen win for Marianne Vos! 

Top-10 

1. Marianne Vos (Visma - Lease a Bike) 

2. Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl - Trek)

3. Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla - Jayco)

4. Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx - ProTime)

5. Puck Pieterse (Fenix - Deceuninck) 

6. Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl - Trek) 

7. Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) 

8. Arlenis Sierra (Movistrar) 

9. Lucinda Brand (Lidl - Trek)

10. Julie De Wilde (Fenix - Deceuninck) 

Marianne Vos, winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen women 2024

"A lot has happened. There were attacks from the beginning and then we had this neutral part where the race was neutralised but then after the start was given again and straight away there were some new actions and from the cobbled section we had a new front group. The final I can’t really recall because so many things happened but in the end I was happy to be in a break with Shirin van Anrooij.” 

Thanks for joining our live text coverage of Dwars door Vlaanderen today, you an read the full race report here. See you on Sunday for the Ronde van Vlaanderen!