The 8 best moments from the spring Classics 2024

Cyclist
The 8 best moments from the spring Classics 2024

The 2024 cycling spring Classics season is over so it’s time to look back at the best bits before Grand Tour season really kicks off at the women’s Vuelta and men’s Giro. This year has bestowed some incredible racing upon us, from brutal attacks over punishing cobblestones to unfathomable breakaways, maiden wins and record-equalling victories.

It’s hard to narrow it down, but these are what we’ve deemed the eight best moments from the last few months of one-day racing.

1. Pfeiffer Georgi’s Paris-Roubaix podium reaction

The delight witnessed around the world.

23-year-old Pfeiffer Georgi arrived at the Roubaix velodrome in a strong leading group of pre-race favourites including the likes of Lotte Kopecky and Marianne Vos, all vying for cobblestone glory. She was so focussed on her final sprint that she didn’t realise she’d pipped Vos to third place on the line, and it made for some spectacular viewing when she found out.

Her heart-warming realisation featured pure, unbridled joy, followed by celebrations with her team. Beautiful moments like these are what makes cycling great.

• Read more: ‘I’d love to win a Classic in the spring’: Pfeiffer Georgi profile

2. Kasia Niewiadoma ends almost five-year road victory drought

Straight from one emotional moment into another. Kasia Niewiadoma had to wait almost five years for a win on the road despite hopping on plenty of podiums in the meantime, including a recent second place at the Tour of Flanders. She won the Gravel World Championships at her first gravel race last year, but when lining up at La Flèche Wallonne, there was a chasm of 1,770 days since her last individual win at the Women’s Tour in 2019.

The finale of La Flèche Wallonne inevitably came on the brutal Mur de Huy. One last leg-sapping effort needed.

Niewiadoma broke clear on the steep slopes and held on for a long-awaited moment of raising her hands in celebration.

‘I hope this race will inspire many people to keep believing and pursuing their dreams,’ she said afterwards. ‘I’ve had so many second, third and fifth places. Deep inside, I knew this was my day. After five years of not winning a road race, I will enjoy this moment with my team and teammates. I enjoy this process and the path that I’ve had to get there. Winning is special. I believe in personal development. If I can make progress in myself, help my teammates, stay patient and keep the faith high, then I’m okay with this path.

‘Yesterday, my partner’s grandmother passed away, and we said I ride for her. I have her engagement ring, and I thought of her as soon as I crossed the line. This victory is an even more special moment.’

Winning isn’t everything and the journey to victory can teach you a lot more than achieving your end goals. Niewiadoma is an inspiration.

3. Marianne Vos hits 250 wins and keeps going

It’s a blessing to be around to watch the historic career of Marianne Vos, one that has spanned across road, cyclocross and gravel, with rainbow jerseys, Classics victories and an Olympic gold medal among the highlights of her enormous palmarès.

Given her prowess, it’s surprising that she’s still finding any races to win for the very first time, but that’s exactly what happened at this year’s Dwars door Vlaanderen. She held off Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) in a sprint finish for her second victory of the season, notching up her total to a whopping 250.

Vos said, ‘It’s a number you don’t dare to think about at the beginning of your career. Over the years you can make a lot of memories of different highs and lows. This is definitely a very nice highlight.’

She hasn’t stopped there. Her 251st win arrived soon after at the Amstel Gold Race, and with her current contract running until the end of 2025, there’s no telling how many more races she’ll win.

4. Mathieu van der Poel’s ferocious attacks and historic Flanders triple

The king of spring. Mathieu van der Poel has been on fire on the road this year after a dominant winter in cyclocross. He set the bar at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic but had to settle for second place at Gent-Wevelgem behind Mads Pedersen, only to ‘bounce back’ – a ridiculous statement, yet such has been his consistency in delivering wins – with another enormous solo breakaway just a few days later at the Tour of Flanders.

His 45km attack launched on the Koppenberg was one no one could follow. He unclipped after the finish line and held his bike aloft. With this achievement, Van der Poel had won a record-equalling third Tour of Flanders title, writing his name alongside Johan Museeuw, Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara.

He repeated his dominance on the unpredictable cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix, where he broke away with 60km to go until the fanfare of the Roubaix Velodrome, dodging a fan’s stray cap in the process. It was a particularly impressive race for his Alpecin-Deceuninck team with Jasper Philipsen winning the sprint for second, meaning they successfully replicated their 2023 1-2 finish.

It was only unfortunate that we couldn’t have another Van der Poel vs Wout van Aert battle in the spring Classics, as the Belgian broke his collarbone and several ribs in a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Hopefully that makes Van Aert even more determined next season.

5. Tadej Pogačar’s 81km solo breakaway

So much goes into the art of a successful breakaway, especially in the Classics. If you’re Tadej Pogačar, you simply go alone from an outlandish distance and ride to glory.

Long solo breaks were the story of this year’s men’s Classics, but it’s Pogačar’s 81km raid at Strade Bianche that was the longest. A whole 81km. Alone. The audacity! Some are exasperated with the current condition of the men’s peloton but I have to say, with feats like these, I’m all for it. I’m interested to see how the peloton shifts tactically going forwards when faced with a presence like Pogačar.

6. Hugs all round at Milan-San Remo

It’s impressive anyone has the effort to raise their arms following the monstrous Monument of a 288km Milan-San Remo. Yet, after Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) beat Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) and the ever-present Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), that’s exactly what happened.

I really appreciate seeing rivals be friendly off the bike. I think this level of emotional maturity and leaving everything on the road is a healthy behaviour, but also one that provides lovely post-race scenes of friendship and respect for one another.

The trio were all hugging immediately after Philipsen’s victory: Philipsen jumped on Pogačar in celebration, Pogačar took photos with Matthews and his child, Pogačar air-kissed Philipsen on the podium.

With Lance Armstrong’s recent comment declaring his hatred of rivals hugging it out, we love to see this.

7. Elisa Lamborghini

Elisa Longo Borghini is a real fighter, always such an enjoyable rider to watch and a part of a Lidl-Trek squad that has been providing some of cycling’s most entertaining racing for a number of years now.

At the Tour of Flanders, the Italian national champion won the sprint against Niewiadoma, with teammate Van Anrooij celebrating behind. It came nine years after Longo Borghini’s first win in the race and her consistency at the highest level is remarkable.

She didn’t stop there. After skipping Paris-Roubaix, she broke away from Demi Vollering with 8km left of Brabantse Pijl and rode on to her 43rd career victory. Her focus on the Ardennes may not have resulted in a win for those three particular races, but it means she should have strong climbing legs for La Vuelta Femenina next. What a talent.

8. Keep an eye on Maxim van Gils and Laurence Pithie

Talk about consistency. Maxim van Gils (Lotto-Dstny) and Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) have been two standout riders throughout the spring Classics.

Earlier in the year, 24-year-old Van Gils had a successful Vuelta a Andalucía, where he won the third stage, the general classification, points jersey and combination classification. He carried that form into the Classics at Strade Bianche, where he finished third ahead of Tom Pidcock and Matej Mohorič. At Milan-San Remo, he rode in the group of contenders and finished in a career-best seventh.

Van Gils podiumed once more at Flèche Wallonne, taking third place on a particularly harsh day when weather conditions only saw 44 riders finish. Just a few days later at Liège-Bastogne-Liège he was narrowly beaten by Van der Poel to the final spot on the podium.

Keeping up with Van der Poel – especially during his rampage this year – should be medal-worthy in itself. At Gent-Wevelgem, Laurence Pithie managed to stay with the World Champion and Mads Pedersen at the head of the race all the way until the last ascent of the Kemmelberg.

It was his performance at Paris-Roubaix though that really showed his strength. Hampered by a hard crash with 30km to go, he battled on to finish seventh on debut at the race at just 21 years of age.

Two true stars in the making.

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