Britain’s leading female cyclist Lizzie Deignan said the Ford RideLondon Classique is the marquee event for sprinters, following the conclusion of the thrilling 2024 edition.
Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) won all three stages and was crowned champion of the 2024 race overall, two years after she achieved the same feat in Essex and London. Wiebes, arguably the best pure sprinter in the world, was victorious following two steep hill finishes in Essex. In 2022, traditional sprinters Charlotte Kool and Chloe Dygert also won stages in Essex.
It is the third year in succession the three-day UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race has been won by a sprinter, marking it out from traditional multiple-day cycling events.
“The Classique has the best riders in the world, the best sprinter in the world, and it’s attracting the fastest female cyclists in the world, “ said Deignan.
“There aren’t that many races on the calendar anymore that are completely suited to sprinters, and I think that the Ford RideLondon Classique is a bit of a marquee event in terms that the best sprinters come here wanting to prove they are the best sprinter in the world. It’s a great opportunity for them. It’s a bit like the Champs Elysées [the iconic finish on the final stage of the Tour de France in central Paris].”
Deignan, who ended the race as the best British rider, spent the weekend working for her Lidl-Trek squad’s sprinter, Clara Copponi, who finished sixth overall. But for Deignan the whole event was a huge success.
The 35-year-old said: “The weekend’s been great, it’s brilliant to race such a well organised race. It makes a huge difference to the staff, to the riders, we couldn’t have asked for more from that perspective. British roads are testing technically as well as physically, but I think that means that it must be a really complete rider who wins this tour.”
Deignan, from Otley in West Yorkshire, also praised the effect Ford RideLondon Classique can have on British women’s cycling.
“You can’t be what you can’t see and there’s hundreds of children out on the course who will be the next generation of cyclists and hopefully they have seen that it’s not only an option for blokes to be professional cyclists, but also women. And I think we’re in a really good place for the next generation.”