Letizia Paternoster held off some tough competition to take third place in her debut Dwars door Vlaanderen.
The Liv AlUla Jayco rider outsprinted world champion Lotte Kopecky to the line to secure the final podium spot in a chasing group behind Marianne Vos and Shirin van Anrooij.
After the race was briefly neutralised and subsequently shortened, due to an incident ahead on the course, the 2024 Dwars door Vlaanderen took on a different complexion. Nevertheless, it proved to be an aggressive edition and Paternoster was always present near the front.
With 30 kilometers to go, a major split happened at the head of the peloton and the Italian was quick to respond and bridge the widening gap that was opening up. The leading group swelled to six riders after Kopecky jumped across the divide soon after.
At times, it looked like they would be reeled in by the chasing peloton, but the elastic would eventually snap and they built an unbeatable gap. Paternoster held her cool as attacks started flying in the closing kilometers and had the legs to sprint onto the podium.
Letizia Paternoster:
“I’m so happy to be here, finally, on the podium. I want to say thank you to all my coaches Megan Chard, Shawn Clarke, Martin Vestby, and Wim Stroetinga, because they believed in me from day one. I also want to thank [General Manager] Brent Copeland because he put a really great team around me. Finally, I’m back, I’m happy with my shape and now I’m looking forward to the Tour of Flanders. I want to thank the whole team; you are amazing and I want to take a win for you in the next races.”
2024 Dwars door Vlaanderen results
1 Marianne Vos 02:52:08
2 Shirin van Anrooij +0:19
3 Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco) st
Photo: Sprint Cycling
