Rolling out of Denain this afternoon, the second edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes lay ahead of the peloton; with its famous and feared (in equal measure) cobblestone sections. A fierce day of racing was expected and so it was, as the French spring sun seared down over the peloton.

It was a steadier start to affairs as a break established itself early on, but as the cobblestones approached the pace and intensity only ramped up and the gap to those ahead had almost dissipated completely as live TV coverage started at around 80 kilometres to go. Unfortunately, the team were caught up behind a large crash with Pfeiffer Georgi suffering a mechanical as a result and having to chase back.

Nonetheless the team regrouped well, with five riders making it into the reduced bunch of around 50, as the cobbles came thick and it fast. It turned into a race of attrition, as the peloton forged on and thinned out even further, with Georgi and Floortje Mackaij riding strongly to make it into the group of around 15, as others in the team suffered bad luck.

Heading into the finale, Longo Borghini launched her winning solo attack while Georgi and Mackaij both tried to break free from the shackles of the group. Over the final few cobbled sections, the Team DSM duo fought hard with Mackaij making it into the group that fought for the podium places. Pushing all the way to the line in the famous velodrome, Mackaij claimed a brilliant sixth place, while Georgi showed a strong sprint in the following group to claim ninth – making for a great double top ten finish within the team.

Speaking after the line a smiling Georgi said: “I really loved every minute of today. I felt good. It was nice to have me and Floortje there together until Carrefour. We could help each other with positioning and use our numbers a bit in the group at the end. It was pretty crazy to be fighting for a top ten finish, I wasn’t expecting it today. Last year was so hard and I didn’t know how it would go but I felt really strong, and coming into this velodrome just gives you so much motivation to dig deep. I just gave it everything I had to the line and I’m super happy to come in the top ten.”