Cycling
Italy’s Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) has won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, a women’s race that is part of the World Tour. She beat our compatriot Lotte Kopecky in the sprint at a difficult finish. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) finished third.
The Trofeo Alfredo Binda is one of the classics in the women’s circuit that is separate from a men’s race, and is traditionally completed on the same weekend as Milan-San Remo for men. Lotte Kopecky was only added to the list of participants as a last resort, 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.
In the difficult, ascending sprint for victory, Kopecky quickly put in her effort, but she was clearly restrained by former world champion Balsamo, who made her Lidl-Trek team cheer in the Trofeo Binda for the fourth year in a row. A disappointed Kopecky came second, the Dutch Puck Pieterse of the Belgian Fenix-Deceuninck third.
