Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) won the women's Strade Bianche for the second time in her career, distancing Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) on the steep climb up the Via Santa Caterina on the final kilometre.
10km from the line, Kopecky had attacked from a lead group of five that formed on the final gravel sector, Le Tolfe. Longo Borghini chased after her and quickly made contact, and the two riders traded turns on the way to Siena.
Longo Borghini led onto the final climb, but Kopecky dropped her with an explosive acceleration and could celebrate on the Piazza del Campo. Her teammate Demi Vollering beat Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) in the sprint for third place.
“We were a bit more in control today. Elena Cecchini put us out of the wind and led us into the sectors, and we had Mischa Bredewold in the break. Niamh Fisher-Black did a great job in the final, then Demi and I were there on Le Tolfe and played it really well,” Kopecky said of the team's performance.
“I didn’t have my best day today. I really suffered the whole day, I felt pretty tired, but it didn’t get any worse during the race. I’ve had this before and just tried not to panic and trust that my legs will be there,” Kopecky described her experience on the Tuscan roads.
In the end, her legs were there, and she could secure the win with her trademark attack on the Via Santa Caterina.
“You can go early, but I waited a little bit longer. It was just how I felt, and I think it was a good moment. It’s amazing to win in this jersey, and two weeks ago I signed for four years with SD Worx-Protime, so I wanted to give that confidence back,” Kopecky said.
How It Unfolded
Unlike the men’s race, the women’s edition of Strade Bianche was only one kilometre longer than last year, but it nevertheless featured 12 sectors of white gravel roads instead of the eight of the previous years. Most significantly, the two sectors of Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe would be passed twice. It had rained a lot in Tuscany in the days leading up to the race, compacting the gravel. However, it stayed dry on race day so the race didn’t turn into a mudfest.
The peloton stayed together until the longest and hardest sector, the 9.5-kilometre San Martino in Grania halfway through the race where Lidl-Trek increased the pace, reducing the peloton to about 60 riders.
A breakaway of ten riders then formed on the Monteaperti sector, including Bredewold, Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM), Amber Kraak (FDJ-SUEZ), Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), Barbara Malcotti (Human Powered Health), Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek), Riejanne Markus (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), Alena Amialiusik (UAE Team ADQ), and Anouska Koster (Uno-X Mobility).
The break stayed ahead over the first passage of Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe where Kopecky tested her legs for the first time, but the breakaway shrunk in size due to crashes on a snaky downhill, taking out Bredewold, Koster, and Deignan.
After Fisher-Black had reduced the gap to the break, Lidl-Trek took charge again, bringing the gap to the three remaining escapees Amialiusik, Markus, and Kraak down to ten seconds on the new Montechiaro sector and reeling in the break on the uphill that followed, re-setting the race with 21 km to go.
On Colle Pinzuto, Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ) was first to attack, but Vollering quickly countered and left the Frenchwoman behind, followed by Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM), Longo Borghini, Marianne Vos (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), Kopecky, and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck).
On the asphalt after the gravel sector, Vollering attacked again, leading a front group together with her; Longo Borghini, Niewiadoma, and Vos. Pieterse, her teammate Christina Schweinberger, and Élise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM) bridged to the front, and things came back together going into Le Tolfe with 13 km to go.
Chabbey led out the favourites’ group into the steep climb with gradients of up to 18%, and Niewiadoma launched an all-out attack that only Vollering and Kopecky could follow. Longo Borghini and Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) bridged once the climb was over, making for a front group of five.
After a short-lived move by Vollering and Niewiadoma, Kopecky countered and got away with Longo Borghini. This was the decisive move, and Kopecky distanced the Italian champion on the final kilometre to win.
Results
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