Premiere at a high level in the ‘Queen of the Classics’
The Danish rounds off her splendid 2021 season fighting to the end for the places of honour in the ‘Hell of the North’, after countless falls and incidents that particularly affected several of the Movistar Teams.
An unstoppable attack more than 80 km from the finish, before even entering the paved sections that have built the legend of Paris-Roubaix in recent decades, gave an undeniable victory to the British Lizzie Deignan (TFS) in the first women’s edition of ‘Hell of the North’, where Movistar Team gave a great image and sneaked into the top-ten with one of its great references, Emma Norsgaard (6th).
The Danish runner was able to pass, along with Leah Thomas (12th) and Aude Biannic (21st), the first screens due to the pace, the mud, the strong wind and a series of falls that affected the blues on several occasions. He was out of the dispute very soon Annemiek van Vleuten, with two blows that prevented him from finishing the test. Guarischi and Gutiérrez were also cut off, who despite this managed to finish the test within the control. And while Biannic was ‘eliminated’ by a strong blow in Camphin-en-Pévèle (-25 km), Emma battled after another fall in Mons-en-Pévèle (-40 km), came back several times and sprinted in the group after the three women on the podium – Deignan, Vos (TJV, 2nd) and Longo Borghini (TFS, 3rd) -.
Finally, Norsgaard achieved the best position for a Movistar Team cyclist at the Velodrome in more than four decades, rounding off a 2021 that has seen her fully immerse herself in the highest line of women’s cycling in the world. One of many heroines in Hell.
Statements/ Emma Norsgaard:
“I don’t even know what has happened since Deignan’s attack before the pavé. I just know that it has been a chaotic day, from start to finish. I have crashed twice, the team have had very bad luck staying behind one of the falls on the paved sections… It was a f**king hard day, a real madness. I’m dead, just dead. And given the circumstances, I have to be happy. Falls happen in cycling, more on days like today, and I have to be happy with being physically fit and even more so with having achieved this top-ten ”.
Image Credit (c): Photo Gomez Sport