Ed’s Letter
Both the men’s and women’s versions of the race had the added frisson of muddy, slippery cobbles, which made for edge-of-seat viewing as the racers fought to stay upright on surfaces more suited to Dancing On Ice than riding a bicycle. And both races were compelling – but in different ways. On the Saturday, the women’s race saw Britain’s Lizzie Deignan strike out alone with 80km to go, meaning that for the next couple of hours she was forced to defend a narrow lead while skidding around like she was riding a broken shopping trolley, bleeding from her hands, and with the world’s greatest-ever rider, Marianne Vos, chasing like a demon two minutes behind. It was more tense than watching an England penalty shootout, only with a much more satisfying conclusion. The…