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The 21 best women’s one-day races of the 2020s so far
One-day racing provides a chance for riders to give it all they have on one relentless course. Over the course of a couple of hours, riders are pushed to their limits in the name of Classics glory or an international title. In professional cycling, these one-day races are often the most exciting to follow and the toughest to call.
In women’s cycling, the winners of big one-day races during the 2020s have been slightly more diverse than the men. Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini and Annemiek van Vleuten stand out as the main Classics stars, but we’ve also had surprise Classics wins from the likes of Grace Brown, Marta Cavalli and Pfeiffer Georgi over the past five seasons.
As we did with the men earlier this week, we’ve ranked our top 21 women’s one-day races of the decade so far based on the scales of watchability, significance and excitement. To make this list, Women’s WorldTour Classics, UCI Road World Championships, the Olympic Games and the now-disbanded La Course will be factored in. With that cleared up, let’s get ranking.
21. Tour of Flanders 2022
We start our search for the best women’s Classic in Belgium in 2022.
After a typical opening to the Tour of Flanders, Kopecky and Van Vleuten re-opened their Classics rivalry at around 25km. Out of the two, the Belgian looked the more relaxed up the steep cobbled climbs. The duo’s gap wouldn’t stretch out too far and Kopecky held back, allowing her SD Worx teammates to be added into the mix.
Over the final passage of the Paterberg, some key moves went. The group was thinned out and Van Vleuten looked to have gained a bike length or two over her opponents. Marlen Reusser, one of Kopecky’s teammates, would crucially close the gap, bringing the group back together again.
It would have to wait until the cobbles were over for the winning move to come, though. Chantal van den Broek-Blaak broke clear but was soon joined by Kopecky and Van Vleuten. With two out of three from SD Worx, it would take a real twist for Van Vleuten to take another Flanders crown.
Van den Broek-Blaak, the winner of the 2020 edition, led the group under the flamme rouge, in preparation for a Kopecky masterclass sprint. And that’s precisely what happened. Kopecky, branded in the Belgian tricolour, would take the win in front of a home crowd. Still fairly young, this would be Kopecky’s first Monument-level victory. Prepare, there are more to come.
20. Gent-Wevelgem 2024
During the few cobbled kilometres on offer at this year’s Gent-Wevelgem, Kopecky decided to make a move off the front of the pack. This caused some panic behind and a host of hasty attacks flew off the front.
It looked as though the peloton had settled down with around 10km to go. A group splintered off in the final 5km, but Grace Brown catapulted from that selection to go solo. The Australian looked to have pulled off a last-minute siege for glory, but she was swallowed up within the final couple hundred metres. This left the peloton to contest a chaotic sprint.
Elisa Balsamo and Lorena Wiebes leaned up for the finish and it would come down to a photo finish. No rider was confident enough to celebrate, and after two or so minutes of deliberation, Wiebes was given the win.
A good old-fashioned sprint with a little bit of breakaway intrigue. It’s proper bike racing.
19. Brabantse Pijl 2023
SD Worx seemed to have a well-drilled battle plan for the 2023 Brabantse Pijl. The squad were controlling the race in fine form for most of the day, and by the final lap they had positioned Reusser into an ideal position. As she whacked up the pace, she drew a small selection of riders clear. Left out of that selection, Reusser’s teammate Vollering was left to find her own way across.
Now behind, Vollering was keen to attack her rivals on the final cobbled challenges of the day. Liane Lippert stuck to her wheel and the two soon bridged up to the leftovers from the earlier move. The group joined forces with 6km to go, giving SD Worx two cards to play in the finale.
Vollering launched her sprint far too early while Silvia Persico was more patient and timed her effort to perfection. She overtook Vollering to take the Brabantse Pijl title for UAE Team ADQ. No matter how many cards they had on the table, SD Worx still couldn’t manage to engineer themselves a win.
18. Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2022
Annemiek van Vleuten took the 2022 Omloop by the scruff of the neck in the final 20km. She refined the group over the Kapelmuur to make the first big move of the race. Once the slopes settled down, more riders joined the offensive, making it a crowded group of seven.
Comprising half the lead group, SD Worx appeared to have trapped their opponents. They had outnumbered their rivals and it was up to them who would be allowed to go clear. With 12km to go Van Vleuten launched past the barrage of SD Worx riders with only Vollering able to catch on and follow the Movistar leader.
Their gap soon grew out to a minute and SD Worx sterilised the chase in the second group. Van Vleuten wasn’t too happy. She sat up and started arguing with Vollering upfront, seemingly frustrated with her lack of cooperation. Some vindication would come Van Vleuten’s way however when she eventually out-muscled the younger Vollering to Omloop victory.
Behold, this marks the beginning of women’s cycling’s next big rivalry. The classic Van Vleuten vs Vollering dichotomy.
17. Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2021
Van der Breggen sacrificed her own ambitions on behalf of her younger teammate Vollering at Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2021. This was only fair given Vollering’s unwavering support for Van der Breggen at other Ardennes Classics. Over the Roche-aux-Faucons, Van der Breggen stretched out the group and dropped a number of key rivals. It was clinical, to say the least, and SD Worx looked on track for another big one-day win.
This expectation was diverted by an attack from Canyon-SRAM’s Kasia Niewiadoma. A second blow by Van Vleuten put SD Worx on the backfoot. World Champion Van der Breggen was in Van Vleuten’s wheel, but the plan was briefly jeopardised. Vollering would get back on terms by the downhill and the group lined up once more for an express train to the flamme rouge.
Once the sprint opened up, Vollering was in the perfect place to pounce. She broke past Van Vleuten and Longo Borghini to claim the Liège-Bastogne-Liège crown. This would go down as Vollering’s first major victory in women’s cycling. This would also begin her illustrious Monument career and her breakthrough 2021 season that saw her claim La Course and a Giro podium. Welcome to the Demi Vollering era.
16. Classic Brugge-De Panne 2023
Echelons characterised the 2023 edition of Brugge-De Panne.
The peloton was ripped apart by the wind at 60km to go when the course changed direction. A small group of eleven riders had made the cut into the lead group. They worked well together at the head of the race and fended off a well-oiled chase in the peloton.
At around 10km, the front group were starting to think about the finish. Team DSM upped the ante and Megan Jastrab increased the pace. The rest of the group needed to respond, but two of the eleven riders would come down in a spill. The effects of the crash also eliminated another two riders from the front, leaving just seven to contest the win. While the faster members of the group looked at each other, Pfeiffer Georgi swept past the group in a commanding attack.
Elisa Balsamo would come close to catching her wheel, but Georgi’s teammate Jastrab interrupted the chase. The lone Brit upfront would take the win, the first WorldTour win in her palmarès. An impressive win perfected by Team DSM’s cunning tactics.
15. Amstel Gold Race 2023
The 2023 Amstel Gold Race was hard-fought despite poor weather conditions. The final lap of the familiar course saw a number of high-profile moves. Van Vleuten launched a flyer, Niewiadoma rolled the dice, as did Grace Brown on the approach to the final challenge of the day.
Brown and Canyon-SRAM’s Soraya Paladin would ride onto the final ascent of the Cauberg with a small lead. The Italian was the stronger of the two, but she’d soon be swept up by a hardy chase led by Liane Lippert. This tough drag race up the climb spat out Van Vlueten, but no move would be allowed to stick on the Cauberg.
Over the crest of the climb, Vollering upped the pressure and slipped out of the Lippert-led train. She didn’t have much daylight over the chasers, but they’d lose focus at the kilometre-to-go mark where they started to look over their shoulder. Defeated, the group settled for a sprint for second place.
14. La Course by Le Tour 2020
Before the Tour de France Femmes, the Tour organisers offered women a one-day race by the simple name of ‘La Course’. This initiative began in 2014 and would end in 2021. With this, there are only two one-day La Course editions to choose from for this list. Out of the two, the 2020 edition in Nice stands out.
It would take until the last lap of the Niçois circuit for the favourites to make their moves. World Champion Van Vleuten was the first to play her hand, forcing some big hitters to follow. Lizzie Deignan and Marianne Vos locked onto her wheel and soon a young Vollering from Parkhotel Valkenburg would join the attackers. Add in Trek’s Longo Borghini, and we had an elite group out front.
On the descent, Vollering, Van Vleuten and Longo Borghini were slightly distanced, but they’d all come together by the time they reached the Mediterranean coastline. Longo Borghini worked on behalf of her teammate Deignan in the final kilometres. She would attack and lure out Vos in response. Deignan was poised in her wheel and the duo were teed up for the sprint. The final lunge to the line on the Promenade des Anglais would go the way of Deignan who’d take her first win at La Course.
On another note, take a look at that front group. We have, quite possibly, the best riders of the 2020s here. We’ve got three Tour winners in Niewiadoma, Vollering and Van Vleuten, former world champions and Monument winners Deignan and Vos as well as future Giro champion Longo Borghini. This group stood the test of time, we can safely say that.
13. Strade Bianche 2020
After months locked up by the pandemic, the 2020 season resumed at the beginning of August with Strade Bianche.
When the TV cameras came on, Mavi García was alone at the head of the race. The Balearic rider was sitting comfortably three minutes ahead of a peloton containing reigning Strade Bianche winner and World Champion Van Vleuten. With the help of teammate Amanda Spratt, Van Vleuten finally made her move. However, with over two minutes still to bridge up to García with 14km to go, was it all too late?
Unlucky for García, Van Vleuten was on a good day. The rainbow jersey crept into view and at around 5km to go, the junction was made. The Spaniard would hold the wheel, but it became too difficult to hold on up the Via Santa Caterina. Van Vleuten would get her prize after such a well-calculated chase. Poor García’s hunt for a major one-day race win would have to to go on.
12. World Championships Road Race 2022
After a relatively well-controlled race in the sunshine-soaked Australian drizzle, the women’s road race at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships was an open book by the final lap around Wollongong.
With around 10km to go, a small group broke from the bunch over a steep climb. Among them, we had Niewiadoma, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio – all of whom were in good form. This collective worked well together, but they didn’t hold a convincing lead. Juliette Labous, Van Vleuten and Niamh Fisher-Black missed the move, but the front group weren’t out of sight. They chased on and were within touching distance of the leaders by the time they approached the final approach to the finish.
Under the flamme rouge, Van Vleuten motored around the group in an ambitious last-ditch move. It was uncharacteristic, but it caught the leaders off guard. The group didn’t even bat an eyelid when they saw the Dutch jersey fly past, and soon she had an advantage of at least a second or two. The chasers came close in the final dash to the line, but Van Vleuten’s sneaky move was enough to seal a second world road race title.
Given that Van Vleuten crashed out of the mixed relay a couple of days before, her comeback was miraculous. With this win, she also rounded out a season that included three Grand Tour victories and a rainbow jersey. Is this the best season in women’s cycling? Quite possibly.
11. Strade Bianche 2022
Kopecky was restless, as she often is, during the final phase of the 2022 edition of Strade Bianche. Clearly on a good day, she kept popping off the front. In response, the group would work together to bring her back and stunt the efforts of her SD Worx squad.
Over Le Tolfe, the final gravel climb, Van Vleuten and Kopecky broke clear. Their lead wouldn’t last long as the chasing group would join the two leaders a handful of kilometres later. The group subsequently inflated and deflated over the final 5km. Attacks would come and go, but nothing would stick by the time we rolled around to the foot of the final ramp into Siena.
SD Worx attempted a Kopecky-focussed leadout on the climb, but once Moolman-Pasio peeled off the front, Van Vleuten re-emerged at the head of affairs. She drew level with Kopecky on the incline, but the Belgian stuck to her wheel once they took the right-hander off the Via Santa Caterina.
The two then jockeyed for the win through the sweeping finale, but Kopecky’s cornering ability would give her the edge on the tight cobbled streets. As they swung into the final straight, Kopecky roared clear by at least a bike length, enough of an advantage to secure her first Strade Bianche title.
10. Amstel Gold Race 2021
Think of this as the women’s equivalent to the men’s Amstel Gold of 2019.
On the final ascent of the Cauberg, Van Vleuten ignited a handful of favourites to attack. Niewiadoma, Vos and Longo Borghini would all follow suit, but Niewiadoma appeared to have the strongest legs. In an impressive effort, Women’s WorldTour leader Longo Borghini made it across the gap and the two were well clear of the pack.
Niewiadoma and Longo Borghini looked to have it sewn up once they came over the crest of the Cauberg. On the flat, they began to collaborate well. However, when the finish line came into sight, the duo started playing around.
SD Worx led the chasing group within sight of the duo at around 300m to go. Upon their return, Longo Borghini opened up the sprint and the remaining contenders were forced to follow. Marianne Vos weaved through the early chancers and soon made her way to the front. On a familiar finish, she’d take another Amstel Gold Race win, just pipping Demi Vollering on the line.
9. World Championships Road Race 2023
The final event of the road programme at the 2023 UCI Road World Championships, the women’s road race delivered another fantastic day of racing on the city streets of Glasgow. As it had with the men’s and junior races, the circuit fostered a Classics-style race that would favour the most durable of riders.
Marlen Reusser was the first to try her hand. She would hang out in front for much of the race. Behind, Lotte Kopecky was aggressive throughout the final 30km, brave enough to launch attack after attack. These efforts thinned out the group, however, and brought the main bunch closer to the Swiss escapee.
With one lap to go, Van Vleuten’s final World Championships ended with an untimely puncture. Along the same stretch of road, Reusser was reeled in, giving a compact group of riders an open chance to fight for the rainbow jersey.
Up Great George Street at 8km to go, Vollering launched a move that would ultimately tear the lead group in two. Uttrup Ludwig would then make the most convincing attack of the race so far, breaking free from the hands of Kopecky until the Belgian made it across on the Scott Street climb. Kopecky would go straight past the Dane to go solo with 5km remaining.
She would hold on for glory, securing Belgium’s first women’s world title in 50 years and Vollering would overtake Uttrup Ludwig in the dying moments of the race to take the silver medal.
8. Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2024
Ambitious on La Redoute, a climb well into double-digit gradients, Grace Brown, Elise Chabbey and Kim Cadzow broke free from the peloton. It seemed as though their move had surprised the peloton who were sluggish to respond.
Once the trio’s advantage grew to one minute, the peloton woke up and shifted up a gear in pursuit. Crunch time would come over the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons and A-list contenders Niewiadoma, Longo Borghini and Vollering sprung off the main pack. These attacks helped to rescue their deficit, but they still had half a minute to make up on the leaders by the time they passed over the hilltop.
They eventually joined forces with around 10km to go, thus beginning a disorganised succession of attacks and splits in that leading group. Grace Brown overcooked a corner on the run into Liège, forcing Cadzow off the road as well. They were flung off the back, but they’d soon rejoin around a kilometre later.
The restlessness of the group would persist into the final kilometre. Niewiadoma attacked under the flamme rouge and the final sprint was dragged out in response. After spending around 35km in the lead group, FDJ-Suez rider Grace Brown would come out on top, beating the Classics juggernauts of Longo Borghini and Vollering.
This would be the beginning of Brown’s victory lap farewell season. She’d go on to win Olympic gold in Paris and a rainbow jersey in Zurich later in the season. Talk about leaving on a high note.
7. World Championships Road Race 2024
The 2024 World Championships Road Race was held in pretty treacherous weather conditions. Driving rain and cold temperatures cursed the women’s race, which became attritional right from the off.
Dutch pair Vos and Riejanne Markus slipped into a breakaway, Justine Ghekiere and Ruby Roseman-Gannon joined the move and we soon thought this might well be the winning group. Their gap sat at around one minute, but it soon came tumbling down towards the final lap of the Swiss circuit.
The Dutch tactics left us scratching our heads. They began the climb chasing their own riders in a break, and then Vollering was distancing her own teammates once the gradients increased in difficulty. It didn’t quite make sense. Nevertheless, Vollering continued to motor on. The strongest climbers in the women’s peloton were emerging at the head of the race over the Witikon climb. A lull in the pace allowed Kopecky to come back, just in time for another filtration of the group.
Longo Borghini looked to be the most ambitious on the day. She made an attack within the final couple of kilometres and it briefly looked like a winning gambit. However, it would all come back together, now with the company of Chloe Dygert and Roseman-Gannon who would soon join the battle for the podium.
The fastest rider in the group on paper, Kopecky, would prevail in the final dash to the line. Even on a profile that doesn’t suit her characteristics, she could still rescue a race win out of it.
6. Tour of Flanders 2024
When the rain is pouring in Flanders, you know you’re in for a good race. This was certainly the case at Vlaanderens Mooiste early this year.
Early in the day, a heavy crash would alter the early trajectory of the race. Deignan was forced to retire and Kopecky was held up behind the pile-up. At 80km to go, Longo Borghini also came down in a spill. She soon got a new bike and began her chase back into the bunch.
Once we reached the steep climbs, the poor weather played a key factor. The wet cobbles mixed in with biblical gradients forced half the peloton to walk up the Koppenberg. Leading the charge was Lotte Kopecky in her rainbow skinsuit. This proved crucial as the lead group went clear ahead of those who tackled the bergs by foot.
In fear of Vollering joining the leaders, Longo Borghini forced some moves clear but the reigning Tour winner would eventually make it back. However so would Longo Borghini’s Trek teammate Shirin van Anrooij, who would jump past the group and head out solo.
On the Paterberg, Longo Borghini split up the chasing group, bringing forward just herself and Niewiadoma across to the solo Van Anrooij. The trio’s lead was small, but the effort of Van Anrooij helped to bring them into the final kilometre with a real chance of winning. These team tactics would pay off as Longo Borghini beat Niewiadoma to Tour of Flanders glory.
5. Tokyo 2020 Women’s Road Race
What happens when you remove race radios from racing? Well, this was answered in strange fashion at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
If you’re unaware, the Olympic Games prohibits the use of race radios in its road cycling events. This is rather different to most professional races, which have become perhaps overly reliant on it. However, with limited communication at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the whole race dynamic blew apart as riders were pedalling into the unknown.
The morning breakaway had grown quite the lead. The usually-doomed group was whittled down one by one until just Anna Kiesenhofer of Austria was left out front. She continued to ride solo at the head of the race and remained in the lead until the very end, securing the most unexpected victory in Olympic cycling history.
The peloton were unaware that Kiesenhofer was still up the road though. They desperately attacked each other in the final few kilometres until Van Vleuten built up a small gap. She would roll home around two minutes behind Kiesenhofer but she lifted her arms in celebrating, believing that she won the Olympic gold.
Once the riders caught their breath, the Dutch team were told that Van Vleuten only managed silver and their faces soon went from joyful to frustrated. Just a couple of metres away, you could see the unlikely winner Kiesenhofer celebrating with her small team.
Helped by this massive victory, Kiesenhofer signed a pro contract and has since raced in Grand Tours and WorldTour-level Classics, though she wouldn’t get an opportunity like that again – or would she?
4. Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2024
The opening weekend of the 2024 Classics calendar delivered a stellar edition of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Longo Borghini opted for a long-range attack, going solo with around 40km to go. Behind, Kopecky was manufacturing a chase. She led the peloton and forced some crucial splits in the group behind, creating a real selection by 20km to go.
On the Kapelmuur, Longo Borghini was swamped by Kopecky, Vos and Van Anrooij. Leading the group up the climb, Kopecky injected some real pace into this front group and everyone else was obliged to step up a notch to stay in her wheel.
On the final section of pavé, Kopecky laid down the gauntlet. She powered away in the saddle while the three others scrambled for her wheel. Once the road switched back to tarmac, Kopecky only had Vos for company, but the two stragglers would soon come back into the fold.
Lidl-Trek were stuck between a rock and a hard place with Kopecky and Vos in their wheel. Not even an engineered leadout could prevent those two from leaping over Longo Borghni’s wheel in the sprint. Despite Kopecky’s bullishness earlier in the race, Vos would overtake her in the final sprint, securing a very impressive victory.
3. Strade Bianche 2023
What happens when teammates become rivals? Here’s your answer, it’s Strade Bianche 2023.
To set the scene, a daring move by Kristen Faulkner at 40km to go saw her break off the bunch. She would clock up a comfortable advantage by the time the peloton engaged its chase.
With the toughest sterrato to come, MTB sensation Puck Pieterse showed her face at the front of a major road race for the first time and Van Vleuten attempted a move in what would be her final Strade Bianche. Eventually, the strongest pursuing rider would be Vollering who made a bid over the gravel slopes. Going solo, she was soon joined up by a stray horse who chased the TV motorbikes for a good few hundred metres.
At 10km to go, there was still a minute to make up to Faulkner. By shelling Uttrup Ludwig, Vollering and Kopecky were left to themselves to chase the escapee. The American came into sight at the foot of the Via Santa Caterina and the trio would be forced to juke it out up the narrow city streets of Siena. Faulkner almost forced Volering into the barriers, but the SD Worx colleagues soon ditched their opponent.
The teammates came down the short descent and were locked in for a competitive sprint, even lunging to the line. No gifts were handed out and a photo finish was needed to separate the two. They didn’t look too happy about it afterwards, but their deadlock was soon separated as Vollering was confirmed the winner.
To add to the drama, Faulkner was later disqualified for wearing a continuous glucose monitor during the race, which is banned under UCI regulations.
2. Paris 2024 Olympic Games Road Race
The Paris 2024 Olympics gave us some incredible scenes on the roadside. With a postcard-like parcours around Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, this race was something special. It wasn’t just the milieu that made it memorable, however, the women’s race was a blockbuster right to the end.
After a gnarly couple of laps around the Butte Montmarte, Vos and Blanka Vas had broken away from the main peloton. Their lead looked convincing, with many predicting another Olympic gold for Vos. Behind, however, Faulkner and Kopecky were starting to collaborate and make their way back to the front. The presence of Kopecky weighed heavy on the front group who were motivated to carry on their two-up challenge for gold.
Kopecky and Faulkner had the leaders in their sights for much of the final lap, but finally at 3km to go, the groups came back together. As soon as the groups met, Faulkner shot away and began her pursuit of Olympic gold.
The chasers looked at each other and, at that moment, the race slipped away. Perhaps too focused on a sprint outcome, Faulkner’s time-trialling engine helped deliver her closer to the top step of the podium. As she passed under the Eiffel Tower, it was in no doubt, she had done it. Faulkner had become an Olympic champion on the road but just rolled over the line like she didn’t even know it had happened. After the last Olympics, maybe that was a wise choice.
1. Paris-Roubaix 2023
You knew it was coming. A breakaway win at Paris-Roubaix wasn’t going anywhere near the bottom of this ranking.
The 2023 edition of L’Enfer du Nord was unorthodox, to say the least. The script was well and truly torn up at 37km to go when a crash held up the whole peloton – apart from Romy Kasper who just about missed the huge pile-up.
This inevitably disrupted the chase, yielding the breakaway some more time to play with. Kopecky was driving the peloton through most sectors, but the lack of team support and cohesion also offered the escapees some more leeway. As the marked woman, no one was willing to work with Kopecky and the favourites raced conservatively in response.
The front group fractured at points, with a lead of just 30 seconds over the peloton by the 5km to go marker. Flurries of fruitless attacks would fly off the group of favourites in a frantic attempt to bridge across to the breakaway, but by the time they reached the Roubaix Velodrome, they had a slim margin of 10 seconds to play with.
The group of seven up front would be the biggest group to contend for a Paris-Roubaix trophy in some time. Femke Markus, one of the strongest riders in the front group, slipped out on the banks of the velodrome, leaving six riders to fight for the cobblestone trophy. The sprint was hectic and crowded. Positioning was key and Alison Jackson, who had done much of the day’s pulling, remained at the front throughout the final lap of the track. She’d hold off a challenge from Katia Ragusa to take the win, vindicating her role as breakaway commander-in-chief.
After crossing the line, the Canadian placed her bike on the ground and immediately started dancing. The best victory celebration of all time? It might just be.
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