Elisa Longo Borghini delivered a statement ride at the 2025 edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen Women, launching a long-range attack to win solo in Waregem. The Italian champion made her move with 30km to go and was never seen again, while Lotte Kopecky battled through a difficult day to claim second in the sprint, narrowly beating Elisa Balsamo to the line after riding on the limit for much of the race.
The early part of the 128.5km race passed without major incident. Attacks came and went, including from riders like Anna van Wersch and Yonna Van Dam, but none stuck as the peloton kept things tight. The dynamic only began to shift around 70km from the finish, when Lotte Kopecky opened up with the first real acceleration of the day, though she soon sat up. It was Marlen Reusser who finally managed to get clear, joined by Femke Gerritse, Lucinda Brand and Amber Kraak in a move that hovered just ahead of the main group. The four were soon reduced to two as Reusser and Kraak pressed on alone.
Behind them, the peloton was thinning on the climbs and cobbles, and the next major move came from Longo Borghini. She jumped across to the leaders and, without hesitation, went solo over the Huisepontweg cobbled sector. Her gap quickly grew to 20 seconds and then 30 as the chase faltered behind.
Photo Credit: Cor VosThe main group behind her was caught in disarray. Several riders, including Ellen van Dijk and Kasia Niewiadoma, tried to follow but were unable to hold Longo Borghini’s wheel. Niewiadoma admitted she simply didn’t have the pure power to stay with the Italian once the gradient and cobbles kicked in. She later expressed frustration that no one in the group was willing to commit to a proper chase, particularly questioning the approach of SD Worx who had numerical strength but didn’t contribute meaningfully.
Kopecky, meanwhile, was enduring a rollercoaster day. She had started well but faltered on the Eikenberg, getting dropped in response to a punchy attack from Puck Pieterse and reaching the summit slightly adrift. She pushed on in damage limitation mode, and although she was again distanced briefly on a motorway bridge in the final kilometres, she never fully cracked. That she was able to outsprint Balsamo at the finish—despite clearly riding on the limiter for more than 40 kilometres—was as impressive as it was surprising.
Speaking after the race, Kopecky admitted she had no answers. She said she had “a very strange feeling” and struggled to understand why she felt so off the pace. “On the Eikenberg, I was completely empty. I wanted to get off the bike at times,” she explained, before adding that it was only through sheer determination and a perfect lead-out from Mischa Bredewold that she was able to contest the sprint.
Longo Borghini, in contrast, was calm and composed at the finish. Having been caught in the final metres at Sanremo Women two weeks ago, this time there was no denying her. She described the win as “revenge” and said she had been “very hungry” to prove her strength after a frustrating spell of near-misses. Winning in the tricolour of Italian national champion made the victory even more meaningful.
Elisa Balsamo rounded out the podium, continuing her consistent spring form, but could do nothing about the top two in the sprint.
Defending champion Marianne Vos was a non-starter due to illness, but Visma–Lease a Bike still featured prominently thanks to the efforts of Eva van Agt and Sophie von Berswordt, who stayed in the reduced front group. Without their leader, they lacked a finisher, but the team’s presence in the finale was noted.
For Longo Borghini, it was a classy and commanding win. For Kopecky, it was a day of damage control and quiet concern. What it means for Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen remains to be seen.
Photo Credit: Flanders Classics2025 Dwars Door Vlaanderen Women result
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Main photo credit: Getty
