Elisa Longo Borghini won the women's Paris-Roubaix for the first time ©Getty Images

Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini powered to victory in the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic after a solo break of more than 30 kilometres.

The Trek-Segafredo all-rounder caught a leading group of Belgian Lotte Kopecky, Marta Bastianelli of Italy and The Netherlands Lucinda Brand with 34km remaining before launching a counterattack and evading the trio on the Templeuve cobblestone sector.

The 30-year-old gradually extended her advantage over the chasing pack as she pushed to a 41-second lead with 12km to go.

Although the chase came closer in the final, Longo Borghini fought back to cross the line at the Roubaix Velodrome 23 seconds from SD Worx rider Kopecky who beat Trek-Segafredo rider Brand in the sprint for second place.

"It is just an unbelievable feeling," said Longo Borghini.

"It has been a very tough spring for me, I had sinusitis for a month and could not perform the way I wanted.

"I knew I was worth more than what I was performing, and it was also a little bit frustrating.

"It was a hard time, but I need to thank my family, my boyfriend Jacopo [Mosca], my mum, my dad, and my nieces for their trust, they always keep my morale up, and I want to thank Trek-Segafredo because they still had faith in me."

The 124.7-kilometre Paris-Roubaix Femmes started in Denain with four local laps before tackling 17 sectors of cobblestones for a total of 29.2 kilometres of paved surface on the way to the Roubaix Velodrome.

Kopecky of Team SD Worx has snuck above Trek-Segafredo's Elisa Balsamo of Italy in the International Cycling Union (UCI) Women's WorldTour standings following her victory, with 1,680 points to Balsamo's 1,636.

Movistar Team Women's Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten makes up the top three on 860 points.

Longo Borghini's win means she is now in eighth with 556 points.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) Women's World Tour continues on Wednesday (April 20) with La Flèche Wallonne in Belgium.

The men's edition of Paris-Roubaix is due to take place tomorrow, with athletes starting from Compiègne before embarking on a 257.2km course before finishing in the Haut-de-France city of Roubaix.