UKH

Looking good for Deignan. Her lead crept up to 2m30 but seems stable at 2m15 ish.

Anybody know he she got the lead? Coverage started with 2min lead.

I think she went off on the front in the first cobbled section.

Looks like even the spectators are struggling to stay upright on the muddy sections.

Edit just repeated on commentary. 

First cobble section and a gap opened. No real attack as such.

Looks brutal to be honest.

Deignan doing 46kph. On cobbles.

Not many crashes and no injuries from what I've seen so that's good.

Bugger. Crashes. Looks like injuries.

I thought Vos was going to do it but stable lead now at 1m15s. Hardly varies.

There was one dodgy transponder moment that had me worried, but a comfortable margin in the end. Although comfortable seems like the wrong word to use. 

VERY wrong word!

Great for women's racing. Second only in prestige to the grand tours?

Would love to have seen how she got her 2 minute lead.

 Bold but tactically-smart move with brilliant bike-handling. I wanted Vos to win (thought van Dijk would but she looked uneasy on the cobbles and had a terrible crash) but hats off to Deignan. Absolutely brutal. 

Just an FYI for non Eurosporters, men’s is on Quest late Sunday night. No spoilers now😁

Don't worry, UKC generally keeps spoilers to an "includes spoilers" thread.

82km lone breakaway.

Brutal really is the word.

History.

It was a great race. I don’t usually watch a whole lot of women’s cycling, but that was fantastic. I’ve made a mental note to watch more in the future (is there a women’s Strade Bianche?).

Deignan’s bike handling skills were particularly impressive.

Bring on the Men’s race tomorrow.

There is and Lizzie won it in 2016 IIRC

Always enjoy PR and this was no exception and up there with the best for me. Let's see what tomorrow brings...

Otley's finest comes good!

A very impressive ride from Deignan. She didn't wear gloves and her hands (webbing) were shreaded by the end. But she didn't go down like many others... I wonder if there's a connections?

They haven’t got to the start line yet and they’re already soaked through.

Cross winds too.

Who’s everyone’s pick to win?

Pretty sure it will be that guy in the muddy coloured jersey.

No idea.

van Aert, van der Poel?

And they're off!

Crosswinds, the Sprint for the first sector, Declerck at the front during the roll out, I'm sticking with my picks. 

For some in both senses of the word, already! 

Huge peleton going onto tiny muddy cobbled tracks - carnage at the first cobbled section?

Difficult to imagine anything else. Hope no one is seriously hurt, didn't realise van Vlueten had broken bone until today. 

I think it depends on how many riders are in front of the first crash, if its more than 30 it think it's over for the rest and quick step could have 4 riders in that group. 

That Look Mondrian style jersey is a blast from the past.

I’m not sure who has the worse job today - Adam Blythe on the motorbike or the riders. 

Carnage throughout! But compelling viewing nonetheless, with an exciting finish lined up...

Amazing watching helicopter footage of riders entering the track. A track sprint. The madness and the magic of the event.

Secret is (apparently as told by her) to stay ahead and keep pedalling

A truly terrible day to be a shower on a team bus.

Fantastic weekend of racing all around. Grim conditions, but that must have made it all the sweeter for those that won.

6 debutants on the podiums

That was all really quite good.

Just brill. Awful and brilliant in equal measure. I loved the contrast between the motorbike shots of groups of beige riders and the helicopter shots of clean race jumpers from above.

I got a bit confused, I thought it was another group and couldn't understand why they were clean.

Any other oldies get nostalgic when they saw the Look Mondrian jerseys? Back in the days of Greg Lemons and Fignon.

Yes. A bit of a double take. At first glance, I though we were looking at history footage from a 1980s edition.

Point of order, Fignon stayed with Renault and it was Hinault and Lemond that wore the La Vie Claire jumper.

I brought back my brother the coolest System U tour souvenir anybody in his cycling club had.

It was an ordinary supermarket shopping bag but his clubmates did not know. 

Champs Elysees 1986.

Edit - memory fading but somehow now sure System U rather than Mondrian La Vie Claire