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Lizzie Deignan masters cobbles for glory in first staging of Paris-Roubaix Femmes

02-Oct-2021 14:42:34 | The Guardian

• British rider solos to spectacular victory over cobbles
• Treacherous conditions result in spate of crashes

Lizzie Deignan proved to be the class of the field in the first-ever Paris-Roubaix Femmes as she held off Marianne Vos to take victory at the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux after a gruelling 116km of racing across the famous cobbles.

Cycling’s elite female riders have had to wait a long time for a crack at the pavé and faced a unique challenge as the devil had left the tap on in a delayed “Hell of the North”. Deignan took a stunning solo victory as Vos’s chase proved in vain as the Yorkshirewoman ultimately showed a greater mastery of the conditions.