The Ford RideLondon Classique returned for 2024, giving us 3 similar stages to the 2023 edition. After 2 days in Essex, the peloton would return to London for the final stage and take in all of the sights and sounds of the capital. It was nailed on for a sprint finish as usual but there were still the small matter of bonus seconds to be acquired to decide who would be joining the dominant SD Worx pair of Lorena Wiebes and Lotte Kopecky on the podium this year.
We were treated to a rare successful breakaway as well, with Kaja Rysz and Scarlett Souren able to go clear and get a reasonable gap before ultimately being caught again by the bunch. From there it was a case of delaying the inevitable as Lorena WIebes went 3 from 3 and took the overall GC win very comfortably in the end.
Apart from Kopecky’s monumental achievement, the U23 women’s road race witnessed Hungary’s Blanka Vas win gold, finishing just over four minutes behind Kopecky. This championship celebrated both the established champions and upcoming talents in the world of cycling. In Glasgow, amid displays of endurance and strategy, Lotte Kopecky emerged as the unequivocal star, confirming her position as a premier cyclist globally.