Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Comune di Cittiglio could have been a race Lidl-Trek entered with a three-year profitable streak, however taking a fourth victory was by no means going to be straightforward. There was not solely an additional lap, and subsequently one other ascent of the powerful ending climb thrown in to amp up the problem for sprinter Elisa Balsamo, however the dominant SD Worx-Protime additionally delivered a formidable late addition to the roster, world champion Lotte Kopecky.
The Belgian could not have are available in with a lot warning however made a fearsome addition for the race nonetheless, given her mixed potential on the climbs and in a quick end. The ability-packed Lidl-Trek, nevertheless, have by no means been a workforce to bow to the dominance of SD Worx-Protime and it was clear from the second the racing bought underway that it was going all in to clinch its first Ladies’s WorldTour victory of the 12 months on the Italian race.
“Trofeo Binda is a race I actually love,” mentioned Balsamo, who additionally outlined that the occasion had been amongst her ‘precedence checklist’ this season. “I used to be tremendous motivated, however I knew it will be powerful at present, with that additional ultimate climb. It turned out to be a super-selective and hard race, I believe this provides added worth to the success.”
The race was break up to items even earlier than the ultimate lap, with a massively diminished peloton coming into the final move of 5, and the assaults simply stored flowing proper as much as and past the ultimate climb of Orino, which peaks inside ten kilometres of the road. Nonetheless Lidl-Trek’s 2023 winner, Shirin van Anrooij, was instrumental in neutralising the assaults and serving to pull the lead group again collectively to permit Balsamo the chance to tackle the dash.
“Our energy, as Lidl-Trek, is teamwork. We don’t all the time have the strongest particular person, however as a collective we have now few equals. The plan was to have Shirin able to observe climbers’ assaults, whereas my position was to be there in case of a bunch end” mentioned Balsamo, including “Shirin was commendable, she deserves a particular thanks”.
Whereas the plan to have Balsamo in place within the situation {that a} dash end eventuated could have been clear, it was not at all a straightforward process, with the rider having to combat laborious to hold on in the course of the ultimate ascent.
“Surviving on the final climb wasn’t precisely straightforward,” mentioned Balsamo within the workforce media launch. “I knew it was essentially the most crucial level… however when a sprinter smells victory, it’s like a regeneration.”
With the late break of Mareille Meijering (Movistar) reeled in Balsamo bought her likelihood at securing that second victory in Cittiglio and a fourth in a row for her workforce because the unpredictable occasion completed with a diminished bunch battle, similar to it had in 2022 when she claimed her first victory on the race.
“Within the ultimate I performed my playing cards in one of the simplest ways,” mentioned Balsamo. “I knew by expertise it requires energy, as a result of it’s barely uphill, and techniques… There have been a couple of quick riders within the group, I marked Kopecky intently after which went full gasoline.”
That, turned out to be sufficient to beat Kopecky, who claimed second place on her Trofeo Alfredo Binda debut and, regardless of her late inclusion, put the Dutch workforce again on the rostrum of the long-running Italian Ladies’s WorldTour race for the primary time since 2018.
“I’m fairly happy with this,” mentioned Kopecky in an SD Worx-Protime assertion. “In fact you all the time wish to win, however Elisa was simply sooner so I can reside with this completely.”
