Ferrand-Prévot was among the strongest riders in the 22nd edition of the Flemish classic. On the Oude Kwaremont, she pushed hard, after which only Kopecky, Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Liane Lippert could follow. The quartet worked well together and stayed together even after climbing the Paterberg, the final obstacle of the day.

In the long finish street in Oudenaarde, Ferrand-Prévot gave everything she had, but Kopecky proved to be the fastest. "I can be satisfied with this second place", the Olympic mountain bike champion said. "We rode a good race as a team. Unfortunately, Marianne faced a mechanical problem on the Koppenberg, so we lost her."

"On the hills that followed, I tried to drop the others, but I wasn't strong enough to make the difference. When we got to the last kilometre, I told myself: anything can happen after a 170-kilometre race. Because there was a strong headwind, I wanted to wait as long as possible to start the sprint. I did, but Lotte was simply too strong."

Ferrand-Prévot, who already finished third in Strade Bianche, is already looking forward to Paris Roubaix after a successful start to the season. "I wasn't initially going to ride the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix at all, but I feel good and feel I can help the team. With Marianne, I think we have a good chance of winning."