Grace Verbeke took out a solo win in the women's Tour of Flanders, held on a shortened route over many of the same climbs as the men's race. Marianne Vos sprinted past a small group of riders to finish second, ahead of Kirsten Wild. Vos kept her World Cup lead. Verbeke is the first female Belgian champion in the 'Ronde van Vlaanderen voor Vrouwen', which was first held in 2004.
Verbeke initiated the decisive attack at the Molenberg, where she escaped with Adrie Visser. The two had a small gap still over a group with all the favorites on the Muur van Geraardsbergen. Visser had to let Verbeke go on the final climb, the Bosberg. Verbeke managed to keep her advantage over the group, while Visser was caught by the eight chasers.
There were two Cervélo and HTC Columbia riders in the group, which limited Vos' tactical possibilities. "I was pulling hard as long as I could, but it was a difficult situation. If I close the gap to Verbeke, I am beat."
Vos won the first round of the World Cup and finishing second today secured her lead in that competition.