Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) blasted away from a five-rider breakaway group on the final 14km and soloed to victory at Trofeo Oro in Euro.
UAE Team ADQ dominated the 106.8km one-day race by putting four riders in the decisive six-rider breakaway, with Karlijn Swinkels going second and Dominika Włodarczyk third for a UAE sweep. Saliva Persico finished fourth, leaving Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) in fifth place.
The Italian Champion launched her attack on the final climb and powered away to win the home race for a second time, winning in 2024 with another solo charge. She finished fourth on Saturday at Strade Bianche.
Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) battles on climb among UAE Team ADQ riders, Silvia Persico at the front (Image credit: Getty Images)
Six riders formed the breakaway for the final two circuits, covering 40km, with Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) riding among a swarm of four riders from UAE Team ADQ - Elisa Longo Borghini, Silvia Persico, Karlijn Swinkels and Dominika Włodarczyk.
The five opening 12km circuits had been flat and short, saving the climb of Fortezza (3.5km at 5.3%) for the last laps of 22.5km each.
With 35km to go as the six climbed Fortezza the first time, Rüegg began to lose a grip on the front group. Pieterse was left to contend with the riders in the purple jerseys, and the splash of green, red and white of the Italian Champion.
With just under 25km go go, the Liv AlUla Jayco squad launched multiple accelerations in an attempt to disperse of the lone Fenix rider, but Pieterse matched each move.
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Crossing through Cinquale for the final circuit, the group had a gap of just under two minutes, but attacks unleashed in the peloton by multiple groups. Rüegg tagged on with nine other riders as that group began to close down the gap, trimming 50 seconds off the leaders' advantage with 16.5km to go.
A half of a kilometre later and the five leaders were on the final ascent, and the peloton was all back together for the chase, the gap down to one minutes.
Longo Borghini gave the pedals an extra push with 14km to go and accelerated away from her breakaway companions, looking effortless as she stayed in the saddle on the winding climb.
Pieterse was the next rider to attack on the climb, with Włodarczyk clinging to her back wheel. They had 20 seconds to close on Longo Borghini, as the other pair of Liv riders dropped back across the top of the climb and another 12km to the line.
Once on the flat run-in back to Cinquale, the two small chase groups reconnected, but Longo Borghini went into time trial mode and the UAE Tour GC winner sailed away for her second race-day win of the season.
UAE Team ADQ scores the podium sweep (Image credit: Getty Images)
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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