After a difficult race and a number of attack attempts, there was finally a sprint in Cittiglio. SD Worx played Lotte Kopecky in it. The world champion started the sprint, but Balsamo – who had survived all the climbs along the way – moved into the wheel and crossed quite easily.
Kopecky had won both the Strade Bianche and Nokere Koerse in recent weeks. “But it’s not like I thought: I’m going to quickly take control of this match. It is not that simple, even though people sometimes seem to think it is. I only traveled to Italy at the last minute (as a replacement for a teammate who dropped out, ed.). I was looking forward to this race and wanted to try to get the most out of it.”
“Elisa Balsamo was simply faster. Of course you always want to win, but that is not always possible. So I am satisfied with this result. This was the first time I rode the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. It is completely different from a Flemish classic, but I think it is a nice competition. There were a lot of altitude meters in it. It was the ideal moment to complete this race in view of what is yet to come in the spring.”
Kopecky’s next match is Gent-Wevelgem on March 24.
This contains inserted content from a social media network that wants to write or read cookies. You have not given permission for this.
Click here to adjust your preferences
“It was a very tough race for me,” said the fast Balsamo after her victory. “Especially the last two laps and the last climb, which were very painful. But my team did a fantastic job of keeping everything together. It’s a dream to win here, please don’t wake me up.”
Lotte Kopecky was only added as a last resort to the list of participants of the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, as a replacement for her Dutch teammate Chantal van den Broek-Blaak. He still suffered too much from a crash in Nokere Koerse.
In a difficult race of 140 kilometers, largely completed on a hilly local circuit in and around the arrival city of Cittiglio, Kopecky rode a remarkably unremarkable race, in which she did not interfere in the many attack attempts. Kopecky occasionally threatened to lose the chance of victory, but each time a large group of favorites came together, including the world champion.
Kopecky was also outplayed by her team in the sprint, but had to give up Balsamo.
Lotte Kopecky was honored as leader in the World Cup.
Rash
1. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek)
2. Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx – Protime): same time
3. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck): st
4. Soraya Paladin (Canyon//SRAM Racing): z.t.
5. Georgi Pfeiffer (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL): z.t.
6. Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ): st
7. Olivia Baril (Movistar Team): z.t.
8. Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ): zt
9. Évita Muzic (FDJ – SUEZ): zt
10. Niamh Fisher-Black (Team SD Worx – Protime): z.t.
