Team Visma | Lease a Bike

Marianne Vos

Riejanne Markus

Anna Henderson

Rosita Reijnhout

Fem van Empel

Lieke Nooijen

Linda Riedmann

Eva van Agt

Maud Oudeman

Nienke Veenhoven

Sophie von Berswordt

Carlijn Achtereekte

Margaux Vigie

Mijntje Geurts

Racing

News

Race News

Elisa Longo Borghini happy with strong spring campaign despite slipping to third overall at Vuelta Femenina

, but after a brilliant spring campaign and the withdrawal of leader 

After wins at the Tour of Flanders and De Brabantse Pijl – the latter ahead of eventual Vuelta winner 

) – Longo Borghini was in a strong position for the first Grand Tour of the season, but it was to prove a week of contrasting fortunes for Lidl-Trek as crashes forced some of their big names out of the race.

The Italian national champion eventually finished in third spot on the podium, exactly two minutes behind Vollering, but conceded second place by 11 seconds to 

Longo Borghini had been just 52 seconds behind the maillot rojo after a strong showing on the penultimate stage, where she claimed third. But she had only a slim margin of 22 seconds over Markus and after cracking on the hors catégorie climb to the Valdesquí ski resort on stage 8, she slipped to third overall.

Vuelta Femenina stage 8: Demi Vollering wins overall title and final mountain stage

Nonetheless, it continued a strong first half of the season for the Italian.

“I was not at my very best level, but I fought hard with my teammates as we did believe until the very end that we could keep the second place,” she said. “In the end, it wasn’t possible and I finished third. This is sport – sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But, third place in the Vuelta is not a bad result, hey? You have to smile, it’s still a good result.”

Lidl-Trek’s dreams of victory in Spain looked to be rapidly disintegrating after powerhouse 

Ellen van Dijk was forced to withdraw due to the aftereffects of her crash late on stage 1

, although they still held on to win the opening team time trial and put Realini in the red jersey.

But Realini too would be forced to withdraw after crashing hard on stage 5, leaving the Italian national champion the best-placed of the squad in the general classification and their only remaining shot at the podium.

“The team rode well, but it was a bit unfortunate for us at the beginning because we lost Ellen after the time trial, and then a few days later we lost Gaia, but we kept believing, we kept fighting,” Longo Borghini added.

Vuelta Femenina: Gaia Realini and Kasia Niewiadoma both out ahead of stage 6

“I have to say that the course was a great one, overall. No stage was easy – we always raced full on. I didn’t come here in my optimal form after the tough spring campaign I had.

“I don’t think I made any mistake. I just gave my 100% and this is what I got. I go home now, and I’m still happy. I am in the purple jersey as leader of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, and I have been very consistent during my spring. Now it’s time to rest, reset and start thinking of the second part of the season.”

For everything you need to know about the 2024 Vuelta Femenina, from the

Mathieu van der Poel and Marianne Vos top prize money standings in Spring Classics

) racked up the most prize money in the respective men’s and Women’s WorldTours, with Van der Poel earning €84,500 and Vos €38,173.

 (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the second-biggest earner in the men’s field with €60,400 and 

) is second in the Women’s WorldTour with €35,081.

For this list, we've judged the Spring Classics campaign as the period of one-day racing between Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in late February and last weekend’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and taken into account only the WorldTour races. For the women, there were 11 WorldTour races in this period. For the men, there were 12.

It's worth noting that the prize money riders win is usually shared among teammates and members of staff. With that in mind, one glance at the results shows that Alpecin-Deceuninck will be one happy team, with Van der Poel and Philipsen at the top of the prize money standings, collectively earning €144,900 for the team.

At Paris-Roubaix, the team won €53,700 between them as a result of Van der Poel’s victory (€30,000), Philipsen’s second place (€22,000) and 

Alpecin-Deceuninck conquer Paris-Roubaix: ‘Mathieu is at the best level we have ever seen’

Tallying up the prize money highlights the disparity between the men’s and women’s pelotons. The top 20 men earned €417,750 in prize money in the Classics. The top 20 women earned €253,076 across the same period — that's before considering the difference in base salaries.

In the women's peloton, Vos won the most prize money, followed by Kopecky, followed by 

). The Italian's victory at the Tour of Flanders and consistency throughout the racing earned her a total sum of €31,892.

Elisa Longo Borghini rebuilds from ‘destroyed’ rider to win Tour of Flanders

Behind Van der Poel and Philipsen in the men’s standings sat 

Where Van der Poel enjoyed the best Spring Classics campaign of his career, his rival 

 (Visma-Lease a Bike) had no such luck, with a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen taking him out of racing. The 29-year-old had earned €8,000 up to this point across Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3 Saxo Classic, but he ended up 20th in the men’s standings given his only victory of the spring, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, was not a WorldTour race. It did, however, earn him €11,265.

Flanders Classics continues to award financial parity

Two years ago, Flanders Classics, the organisers of some of the biggest Spring Classics, made the landmark decision to award equal prize money for the male and female winners of the Tour of Flanders, a first for any of the Monument Classics. A year later, it extended this commitment to all the races under its umbrella. This season, it has stayed true to the promise.

As such, equal prize money was awarded to Vos and 

 (Visma-Lease a Bike) at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Wiebes and Pedersen at Gent-Wevelgem and Longo Borghini and Van der Poel at the Tour of Flanders. 

Other organisers have yet to follow the lead of Flanders Classics. The biggest disparity was at Strade Bianche, where Lotte Kopecky’s winning ride earned her a measly €2,256 relative to Pogačar’s €16,000. It was a similar tale at Paris-Roubaix, where Kopecky was awarded €9,000 less than Van der Poel, and at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) won €12,500 to Pogačar’s €20,000.

Individual excellence versus consistent performers

It was a smash-and-grab spring for Pogačar, whose victories in Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège and third place at Milan-San Remo gained him €41,000 across just three appearances.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Tadej Pogačar wins with 35km solo attack

A specialised approach like that wasn't as effective in the women’s peloton due to the reduced prize money, but after a spring in which she failed to finish top 30 in any of the previous Classics, Brown’s win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes catapulted her up to seventh in the women’s standings.

Placing just one below Brown, in contrast, was 

 (dsm-firmenich PostNL) with a cumulative €9,645, who failed to win any of this year’s Classics but did earn significant prize money across Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Ronde van Drenthe, Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix Femmes and Amstel Gold Race.

Top 20 male earners in the Spring Classics

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck): €84,500

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck): €60,400

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): €41,000

Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates): €22,100

Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike): €17,600

Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech): €16,250

Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike): €16,000

Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla): €11,300

Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels): €11,200

Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €10,400

Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step): €8,800

Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): €8,800

Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates): €8,500

Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike): €8,000

Top 20 female earners in the Spring Classics

Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike): €38,173

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime): €35,081

Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek): €31,892

Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): €27,970

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM): €23,226

Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €9,645

Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime): €7,628

Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck): €5,586

Ingvild Gåskjenn (Liv AlUla Jayco): €4,175

Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL): €3,425

Thalita de Jong (Lotto Dstny Ladies): €2,900

Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck): €2,061

For more of the latest from the professional peloton, visit our 

Premature celebrations and long-awaited victories at Amstel Gold Race - GCN Racing News Show

Amstel Gold is a race that rarely fails to entertain, whether it be immense recoveries in the shape of 

 in 2019 or the most controversial of race finishes, as with 

 in 2021. This year's races were no different. 

Pidcock was the man with the last laugh this time around but there was anything but laughter at the end of the 

 on Sunday, from within the pack at least. With the race heading to a small group sprint, it looked as though 

 had taken an expected victory, but the Dutchwoman was the master of her own downfall. 

Believing herself to have outsprinted her rivals, Wiebes sat up and threw her arms out wide in celebration, anticipating the acclaim that was to fall her way for having climbed with the best in the world on the Cauberg. But it was too much, too soon for the sprinter, whose victory parade was spoiled by 

The wily veteran raced all the way to the line and with an impressive bike throw, pipped Wiebes in a photo finish, taking her second Amstel Gold title some three years after her first. It was heartbreak for Wiebes, who quickly realised her mistake, leaving many on social media feeling a sense of anguish for the crestfallen Dutchwoman. 

"Oh, Lorena" was about as much as there was to say at the time, but a day on from the race, 

 studio to take a closer look at both the women's and 

 Races, the latter of which was won by Tom Pidcock. 

 leader gained revenge for his close call in 2021 and was well aware of the significance of his victory after the line, making reference to the controversial photo finish with Van Aert in his winner's press conference. With his sausage dog in close proximity, though, the 24-year-old was in fine spirits and will head into 

 on Wednesday as one of the top favourites. 

GCN's official preview for the men's Flèche Wallonne 

Whilst Flèche Wallonne will move the peloton onto the grand finale of the Spring Classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, it was Brabantse Pijl which ushered in the Ardennes Classics less than a week ago in Belgium. There, two riders staked their claim for La Doyenne and picked up their third victories of the season. 

Dan takes a look back at the race-winning rides of Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), before casting an eye to an exciting week of racing to see out the Spring Classics. 

For all that and more, check out this week's 

 above, and for the latest news from the world of professional cycling, make sure to keep an eye on the 

Narrow Handle Bars, Perfect Bike Saddles & Chain Wax | GCN Tech Clinic

Are Super Strong Cyclists Killing Racing? | GCN Show Ep. 591

The 2024 Giro D'Italia Story So Far! | GCN Racing News Show

I Built A £17,000 Bike. WAS It REALLY Worth It?

Name	Age	UCI Career Wins	UCI Points
Marianne Vos	36	255	2175
Riejanne Markus	29	9	1348
Anna Henderson	25	6	972
Rosita Reijnhout	20	1	512
Fem van Empel	21	1	374

Team Visma | Lease a Bike

Team Visma | Lease a Bike

The Team

Top Team Visma | Lease a Bike Stories

Elisa Longo Borghini happy with strong spring campaign despite slipping to third overall at Vuelta Femenina

Mathieu van der Poel and Marianne Vos top prize money standings in Spring Classics

Premature celebrations and long-awaited victories at Amstel Gold Race - GCN Racing News Show

Subscribe to the GCN Newsletter