Van der Breggen wins the first ever Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes

Anna van der Breggen made it three for three at the Ardennes classics on Sunday. The Dutchwoman soloed to victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège as she did at Flèche Wallone on Wednesday and Amstel Gold Race last weekend.

Lizzie Deignan secured yet another one-two punch for Boels-Dolmans Cycling team when she outkicked Kasia Niewiadoma (WM3 Energie) to the line.

"I was aiming to be good this week, but I never expected something like this," said Van der Breggen. "It was an important week. I hoped to win one of them. I think Liege is a beautiful race, so if I could win this one, I'd be really happy but to win three of them. Wow."

It wasn't only Van der Breggen who impressed – although completing the triple is historic. Deignan's results come in spite of the fact she has been battling illness all spring and insists she's still far from her best.

"I have been really surprised this week," said Deignan. "The process I go through to get into top shape, I've missed the last two phases. I suppose this teaches me to have more confidence when things don't go exactly to plan.

"It's been a hard slog fighting through illness at home, being sick all the time," she added. "For me, it's been a really positive week to have good legs and be integrated into the team again. This gives us all a lot of confidence moving ahead."

Then there is Niewiadoma. The 24-year-old rounded out the podium at all three Ardennes races despite a glaring lack of team support in the race finishes.

"I tried my best to get rid of the Boels girls," said Niewiadoma. "Unfortunately it didn't work out. They are both really strong and for sure they showed it from the first Ardennes classic. At the end, I'm kind of happy to get again third – at least podium spot."

How It Happened

A 139-strong peloton lined up in Bastogne to contest the first running of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femme. The inaugural event covered 134 kilometres and featured four significant climbs, including the same finale with the Côtes de La Redoute, Roche-aux-Faucons, and Saint-Nicolas that the men raced.

The peloton remained largely together during the hilly opening hour of racing despite numerous attacks from kilometre zero. Early rollers served to soften legs and shell weaker riders from the back of the bunch.

Aude Biannic (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) gained the first gap with staying power. The Frenchwoman attacked around the 48-kilometre mark and opened up a 20-second advantage quickly. Jeanne Korevaar (WM3 Energie) bridged across to Biannic. The duo had 1:18 when they hit the Côte de la Vecquée. The first climb on the menu was the longest at 6.7 kilometres.

The pace and the gradient up La Vecquée immediately shut down the breakaway and split the peloton. Several riders lost contact with the fractured peloton completely. Two large pelotons had formed with several smaller groups in their wake over the top of La Vecquée.

The first two groups on the road rejoined on the downhill between La Vecquée and La Redoute. Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM) attacked on the run-in to La Redoute but proved unable to hold off the peloton as the road rose. Annemiek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott) led a group of around 40 riders over La Redoute and towards La Roche-aux-Faucons.

Roxane Knetemann (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) launched a solo escape and started the penultimate climbs with an 18-second advantage – an advantage that was quickly bridged by a Boels-Dolmans-led bunch.

As the size of the front group shrunk, Niewiadoma threw down her first missive.

"I said to myself: 'ok, I really need to go full here,'" Niewiadoma explained. "I knew if I didn't go full for sure [Van der Breggen and Deignan] are there, and it will be the same scenario of Amstel and Fleche."

Four riders could follow Niewiadoma's attack: Diegnan, Van der Breggen, Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5) and Ashleigh Moolman Paiso (Cérvelo-Bigla). In only three kilometres, the five pocketed 40-seconds over a 12-rider chase group led by Orica-Scott. Boels-Dolmans was the only team with more than one rider in the lead group.

"It was such a tough race, and we had the advantage being two at the front," said Van der Breggen. "Being together with Lizzie is a big advantage because everyone in the group knows if I attack, they have to close it and Lizzie is in the wheel. We can play the game."

They played the game well. As the gap began to fall up the Saint-Nicolas and cooperation waned, Van der Breggen attacked.

"I had a little gap already at the top of Saint Nicolas," said Van der Breggen. "It was over the top, so everyone was at their limit at that point."

It was a similar move to the one that netted her the win at Amstel Gold and Flèche Wallone. While Van der Breggen had every reason to be confident it would produce a similar result in Ans, Deignan's presence in the chase provided further incentive to take a risk.

"I thought I could try it, and if it didn't work, I still had Lizzie behind me," said Van der Breggen. "That's where I had an advantage. Because Lizzie is there, people are more hesitant to react to my attack. They know Lizzie can sprint really well."

Deignan's sprint was not required, not for the win anyway. Van der Breggen rode the final seven kilometres solo. For the third time in eight days, she celebrated across the line alone. 17 seconds later, Deignan bested Niewiadoma for second place.

"This whole week has been really good," said Deignan. "We're all really grateful this has happened. It's an important step for women's cycling. They've done this race properly – a full distance, hard race. I think we showcased what women's cycling is about today. This is the kind of platform we need."

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