Deignan crowned queen of the cobblestones

Yorkshirewoman makes history with epic ride through the rain and mud to take first Paris-Roubaix Femmes

- Vern Pitt

Through blood, sweat and tears British rider Lizzie Deignan chiselled her name into the stone tablets of history on Saturday as she became the inaugural winner of Paris-Roubaix Femmes.

The Yorkshirewoman collapsed over her bars in tears of shock and elation after she crossed the finish line in the famous Roubaix velodrome without another competitor in sight.

Deignan hadn’t seen any other riders in the race since she launched a daredevil solo attack on the race’s first secteur of cobbles, Hornaing à Wandignies, 82km from the finish.

At the finish she was almost lost for words: “I feel very emotional. I don’t know, I am just really proud. Sorry, not the best quote, but I am just so happy.”

In one afternoon of brilliance Deignan had elevated what has otherwise been an underwhelming season by her high standards. Hampered by illness, she failed to crack the top 10 during the Spring Classics and while she returned to winning ways at the two-stage Tour de Suisse and scored an impressive fourth on GC at the Giro Rosa, at the Tokyo Olympics she was unable to make an impact.