Tour of Flanders Women 2023

Tour of Flanders Women: Lotte Kopecky flies solo to repeat win in Oudenaarde

Lotte Kopecky made history as the first Belgian back-to-back winner of the Tour of Flanders, dropping Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) - the only rider able to hold her wheel on the previous climbs - on the Oude Kwaremont with 17km to go and then soloed to victory.

The race split on the Koppenberg as moisture made the steep cobbled section slippery, causing almost the entire peloton to finish the ascent on foot. Kopecky, teammate Lorena Wiebes and Persico formed the winning attack with 44km to go.

The Tour of Flanders Women marked the 10th round of the 2023 Women's WorldTour taking place on April 2 in Oudenaarde, Belgium.

One of the hallmark events of the Spring Classics, the Tour of Flanders Women takes the peloton on a challenging race across cobblestones and sharp ascents in and around Oudenaarde.

Flanders Classics made two notable additions to the event last year by increasing the prize purse to €50,000 prize purse and adding the iconic Koppenberg to the women's Tour of Flanders route.

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Tour of Flanders Women 2023 history

Russia's Zoulfia Zabirova captured the inaugural Tour of Flanders victory in 2004. Since the first edition, organisers have included more climbs and extended the race from 94km to over 150km. 

Following in Zabirova's footsteps and winning the Tour of Flanders was Dutchwoman Mirjam Melchers-Van Poppel, who won in 2005 and 2006. Great Britain's Nicole Cooke was the winner in the 2007 edition, followed by Germany's Judith Arndt, also a two-time winner, having taken titles in 2008 and 2012. Her compatriot Ina-Yoko Teutenberg stormed to a sprint victory in 2009.

The first Belgian rider to have won the Tour of Flanders was Grace Verbeke in 2010. Her victory was followed by Dutch riders Annemiek van Vleuten (2011), Marianne Vos (2013) and Ellen van Dijk (2014).

Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini won solo in the 2015 edition, while Britain's Lizzie Deignan was fastest in a two-up sprint in 2016. American Coryn Rivera won a reduced bunch sprint in 2017, and remains the only American to have won the Tour of Flanders.

Anna van der Breggen won the race after a solo breakaway in the 2018 edition, while Italy's Marta Bastianelli won in 2019. Chantal van den Broek Blaak took a solo win 2020. Her compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten won the race in 2021, exactly 10 years after her first victory in 2011.

The second Belgian rider to win the women's race was Lotte Kopecky in 2022, who secured the victory while wearing the Belgian Champion's jersey on home soil.

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