World champion Lotte Kopecky won her first women’s Paris-Roubaix as Great Britain’s Pfeiffer Georgi claimed a podium place in a sprint finish.
Georgi, 23, led out a six-strong group in the Roubaix Velodrome before being overtaken in the finishing straight.
Italy’s Elisa Balsamo was second but Georgi just edged out the Netherlands’ three-time world champion Marianne Vos on the line to finish third.
Britain’s Tom Pidcock is a late entry into the men’s race on Sunday.
“This was the goal of the season,” said SD Worx-Protime rider Kopecky, 28, who was fifth in the Tour of Flanders last Sunday and won Strade Bianche in March.
The race, which featureed almost 30km of cobbles, was decided by a breakaway group of six riders that came together with just under 12km of the 148.5km route remaining.
They stayed together going into the velodrome before reigning British champion Georgi hit the front.
“It was so hard and so close on the line, my legs completely clamped up, I just wanted it so bad,” said DSM-Firmenich’s Georgi, who believed she had finished fourth before the final results were revealed on the stadium screen.
“I can’t believe it. This is a dream race. I know it is not the win but it means a lot. Some of these girls were my heroes growing up so to stand on the podium with them is pretty crazy for me,” she added.
Fellow Briton Zoe Backstedt, 19, who rides for Canyon/Sram Racing, finished 28 seconds back in the second group in 16th place.
The Netherlands’ Tour of Flanders winner Mathieu van der Poel is favourite to win the men’s race as he attempts to complete the classic cobble double.
The world champion will be joined on the start list by Pidcock, 24, who is a late entry after injuring his hip in a fall earlier this week.
The Ineos Grenadiers rider went down during a practice time trial before the Itzulia Basque Country and was forced to withdraw from the stage race.
Pidcock, who has won both the junior and under-23 versions, reported no lasting problems and will now make his debut in the monument – one of the five major one-day races.
Meanwhile, Spain’s UAE Emirates rider Juan Ayuso, 21, won the overall classification in the Itzulia Basque Country after finishing second in a gruelling sixth and final stage behind compatriot Carlos Rodriguez, who was second overall.
The race was marred by a serious crash on stage four that led to the withdrawals of reigning Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard, fellow Grand Tour winner Remco Evenepoel and race leader Primoz Roglic.
Vingegaard, 27, suffered a collapsed lung and broke his collarbone and several ribs.
1. Lotte Kopecky (Bel/Team SD Worx-Protime) 3hrs 47mins 13secs
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita/Lidl-Trek) Same time
3. Pfeiffer Georgi (GB/Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL)
4. Marianne Vos (Ned/Team Visma Lease a Bike)
5. Amber Kraak (Ned/FDJ-Suez)
6. Ellen Van Dijk (Ned/Lidl Trek) +06
7. Lorena Wiebes (Ned/Team SD Worx-Protime) +28
8. Victoire Berteau (Fra/Cofidis) Same time
9. Marie le Net (Fra/FDJ-Suez)
10. Kimberley le Court (Mri/AG Insurance-Soudal)
Georgi, 23, led out a six-strong group in the Roubaix Velodrome before being overtaken in the finishing straight.
Italy’s Elisa Balsamo was second but Georgi just edged out the Netherlands’ three-time world champion Marianne Vos on the line to finish third.
Britain’s Tom Pidcock is a late entry into the men’s race on Sunday.
“This was the goal of the season,” said SD Worx-Protime rider Kopecky, 28, who was fifth in the Tour of Flanders last Sunday and won Strade Bianche in March.
The race, which featureed almost 30km of cobbles, was decided by a breakaway group of six riders that came together with just under 12km of the 148.5km route remaining.
They stayed together going into the velodrome before reigning British champion Georgi hit the front.
“It was so hard and so close on the line, my legs completely clamped up, I just wanted it so bad,” said DSM-Firmenich’s Georgi, who believed she had finished fourth before the final results were revealed on the stadium screen.
“I can’t believe it. This is a dream race. I know it is not the win but it means a lot. Some of these girls were my heroes growing up so to stand on the podium with them is pretty crazy for me,” she added.
Fellow Briton Zoe Backstedt, 19, who rides for Canyon/Sram Racing, finished 28 seconds back in the second group in 16th place.
The Netherlands’ Tour of Flanders winner Mathieu van der Poel is favourite to win the men’s race as he attempts to complete the classic cobble double.
The world champion will be joined on the start list by Pidcock, 24, who is a late entry after injuring his hip in a fall earlier this week.
The Ineos Grenadiers rider went down during a practice time trial before the Itzulia Basque Country and was forced to withdraw from the stage race.
Pidcock, who has won both the junior and under-23 versions, reported no lasting problems and will now make his debut in the monument – one of the five major one-day races.
Meanwhile, Spain’s UAE Emirates rider Juan Ayuso, 21, won the overall classification in the Itzulia Basque Country after finishing second in a gruelling sixth and final stage behind compatriot Carlos Rodriguez, who was second overall.
The race was marred by a serious crash on stage four that led to the withdrawals of reigning Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard, fellow Grand Tour winner Remco Evenepoel and race leader Primoz Roglic.
Vingegaard, 27, suffered a collapsed lung and broke his collarbone and several ribs.
1. Lotte Kopecky (Bel/Team SD Worx-Protime) 3hrs 47mins 13secs
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita/Lidl-Trek) Same time
3. Pfeiffer Georgi (GB/Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL)
4. Marianne Vos (Ned/Team Visma Lease a Bike)
5. Amber Kraak (Ned/FDJ-Suez)
6. Ellen Van Dijk (Ned/Lidl Trek) +06
7. Lorena Wiebes (Ned/Team SD Worx-Protime) +28
8. Victoire Berteau (Fra/Cofidis) Same time
9. Marie le Net (Fra/FDJ-Suez)
10. Kimberley le Court (Mri/AG Insurance-Soudal)