The American Who Might Win Flanders (Again)

“Now what do I do?” asks American sprint sensation Coryn Rivera. “I set the bar so high. And just because I did it last year, doesn’t mean I’m going to do it this year.”

In 2017, Rivera burst onto the international stage as the first American to win the storied Tour of Flanders. 

She also claimed victory at the hilly and technical Trofeo Alfredo Binda women’s WorldTour race, as well as the iconic Ride London Classic. She placed third at Gent-Wevelgem. And she capped off her season by taking the team time trial world championship with her Sunweb trade team.

This year, Rivera, 25, has been on the cusp of the podium a number of times. 

She scored two top 10 finishes at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (fifth) and Ronde van Drenthe (sixth) and placed 15th in her defense of Trofeo Binda (available via replay on FloBikes).

In advance of the 2018 Tour of Flanders, we chatted with Rivera about when she first became aware of the northern classics, her team’s odds at repeating, and how the race might play out.