Aoife O'Brien (DAS-Hutchinson) has enjoyed one of the most memorably days of her career, with the 21-year-old Co Westmeath woman going on the attack at Tour of Flanders. She made the main breakaway of the day and spent well over half the race, some 169km, leading the way.
Having gone clear almost from the gun, O'Brien spent over 100km clear; her epic performance coming as Irish female pros are riding high this year, with Mia Griffin (Roland) taking a win in El Salvador this weekend and Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) ripping it up in Europe since the start of the season.
And though world champion Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime) went on to claim another Flanders victory from a four-strong select group, from an Irish perspective the day was all about young Aoife O'Brien.
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She threw caution to the wind and showed a really admirable lack of fear in getting stuck into the attacks almost immediately the race began in Oudenaarde, getting clear in a seven-rider group in what was her classics debut; indeed the first World Tour race she has even ridden.
With O'Brien in that group were: Nicole Steigenga (AG Insurance-Soudal), Franziska Brauße (Ceratizit), Romy Kasper (Human Powered Health), Alison Avoine (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93), Britt De Grave (DD Group Pro Cycling Team) and April Tacey (Coop-Repsol).
Though none of them was a pre-race favourite, on offer was a day out front in one of the biggest races in the world and they grabbed it with both hands; working to establish their gap, with the bunch initially content to see them ride away.
Being up front also handed the breakaway women the added bonus of avoiding the many crashes back in the peloton as the riders competed for position and space on the road.
With just 15km completed, O'Brien's breakaway had 1:40 on the peloton with two riders trying to bridge across, namely Beatrice Caudera (BePink-Imatra-Bongioanni) and Sterre Vervloet (Lotto), though they were soon reabsorbed by the bunch.
HISTORIC HAT-TRICK!
?? Lotte Kopecky wins the Tour of Flanders for a third time! ? pic.twitter.com/3Gljn5ZOCK
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 6, 2025
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While Aoife O'Brien was enjoying a great day up front, on one of the sport's biggest outings of the year, he older sister was among the fallers in a crash just before the first set of cobbles, at Doorn.
With 100km to go, the breakaway had a whopping 7:30 on the main field, which had split and regrouped several times on the first climbs of the day.
However, within 10km of that gap reaching 7:30 it was back down to five minutes; the pace in the bunch ramping up on the approach to, and over, the Jagerij cobbled section, the second sector of pavé of the day.
As the breakaway reached the Valkenburg climb it was down to four minutes and also four riders - Steigenga, Tacey, De Grave and Brauße - with O'Brien one of those to lose their place up front, but only after a memorable day out for her.
At the Eikenberg, climb, Steigenga surged away solo up front, going it alone with 50km to go and with two minutes in hand, though the real racing was yet to truly begin between the big names.
As expected, the breakaway riders were all swept up a long way from the finish and with 20km to go the pressure of the day had produced a front group of just 17. They hit the Oude Kwaremont, with the front group splitting and four pulling clear; Kopecky, Ferrand-Prevot, Niewiadoma and Lippert.
And though there was still the Paterberg to come, where Niewiadoma pressed hard, the four leaders went to the finish to fight it out.
World champion Kopecky took her third victory in the race with a fantastic sprint to relegate Ferrand-Prevot to 2nd, with Lippert 3rd and Niewiadoma placing 4th.
Some 1:13 later, Kimberley Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) led in a seven-rider chasing group for 5th from.
The O'Briens - after their crash and breakaway heroics - were non-finishers, though for 21-year-old Aoife O'Brien it was a huge day as she spent well over half the race on the attack on her Flanders debut.
