Elise Chabbey (FDJ United-SUEZ) won the women's Strade Bianche in a sprint of four riders, beating Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) to the line through the streets of Siena. Franzisca Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ) rounded out the podium by holding off Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ).
A first move by Chabbey and Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ) went on the first passage of the Colle Pinzuto uphill gravel sector, but was caught by a small group with 40km to go. There were attacks aplenty, but eventually, nine riders entered the crucial second passage of Le Tolfe together.
“I have so many emotions, I cannot realise this right now, I will need some days. It’s good I got three weeks at altitude planned, I will have time to realise there. Wow, it’s just amazing,” said Chabbey after her victory.
When Demi Vollering suffered a mechanical on the first passage of Le Tolfe, and then took a wrong turn in the chase group, FDJ United-SUEZ switched focus to Chabbey and Koch who were still in the front group.
“I had already done some efforts before, I was in the break, and I was really on the limit so many times. In my head, I was like ‘I just want to give up’. But then I thought, ‘no, for Demi who is behind and for all the work that my teammates did, I need to go to the finish’. I passed the line first, I just cannot realise it,” continued Chabbey before the flash interview was interrupted by Vollering coming in to congratulate her teammate.
“There were so many good riders today, all the big riders were there on the start line. And I’m so proud I could do it for the team because everybody is committed so much, the staff, my teammates. We really work as a united team. Normally it should have been for Demi, but today it’s for me, and I think she is as happy as I am when she wins,” Chabbey concluded.
How it unfolded
With 31.7km of gravel over 11 sectors spread across the 133km route, there was no early breakaway as the big teams kept the race together.
A mass crash on the longest gravel sector, the 9.4km San Martino in Grania, split the peloton and left a group of 24 riders at the front of the race halfway through.
Amber Kraak and Léa Curinier (both FDJ United-Suez) led this group onto the Colle Pinzuto sector where Chabbey attacked and got away with Włodarczyk. On the following sector, Le Tolfe, Vollering and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) suffered mechanicals while Letizia Borghesi (AG Insurance-Soudal) overshot a corner.
A chase group of 11 riders emerged afterwards, and they reeled in Chabbey and Włodarczyk 40km from the line.
The next group with Vollering, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Borghesi, and Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) was about a minute behind when they turned off-course with about 33km to go and lost all chances of coming back to the front.
Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) attacked on an asphalt climb with 22km to go. Her move was followed by Chabbey, Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly), and Vos, with Longo Borghini quickly bridging across. Longo Borghini and Chabbey dropped the other three riders on the Colle Pinzuto climb, but as Chabbey had been on the attack earlier, she did not take turns and left Longo Borghini to do the work.
Behind the front duo, Rüegg buried herself in support of Vallieres and almost closed the 20-second gap before swinging off, and an attack by Niewiadoma-Phinney then brought the chase group back to the front 14km from the finish, just in time for Le Tolfe.
Chabbey was the first rider onto the final gravel sector but faded as the climb began, with Pieterse taking over at the front. Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma-Phinney made their move on the steep slopes, and Pieterse joined them after a short chase.
With no real cooperation between the three and the chasers joining forces behind them, Chabbey, Vallieres, Vos, and Koch came back. Koch tried to get away three times in quick succession while Chabbey closed down the attack from Trinca Colonel who had come back on her own and immediately attacked past the group.
Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma-Phinney were the strongest up the Via Santa Caterina climb, but Chabbey jumped after them and was on their wheels at the right-hand turn with 450 metres to go. Koch was only a few metres behind and made contact soon thereafter before accelerating past at the 300m mark, and Niewiadoma-Phinney, Longo Borghini, and Koch went side-by-side through the following corner, neither of them having the ideal line.
Chabbey accelerated out of the corner to take the lead with 250m to go, and on the downhill slope to the finish, there was no way for Niewiadoma-Phinney to come past. With some good cornering, Koch squeezed by Longo Borghini to take third place.
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