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Lotte Kopecky outsprints van Vleuten to win Strade Bianche Donne

Seventh Women's WorldTour kicks off in Tuscany

March 5, 2022
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Saturday’s opening round of the seventh UCI Women’s WorldTour saw Lotte Kopecky (Belgium/SD Worx) win Strade Bianche, the 2022 UCI Women’s WorldTour opener on the white roads of Tuscany, Italy. Kopecky stopped two-time winner Annemiek van Vleuten’s early-season winning streak, outsprinting the Dutch rider in the finale. Kopecky called it the biggest win of her career. Magdeleine Vallieres was the top Canadian in 32nd.

The Course

Except for a 49-km loop that contained nearly 20 km of sterrati, the women’s 136-km course in Tuscany was the same as the men’s, with the stiff ramps and tricky descents of Sector 5 Lucignano d’Asso and the concluding 16-percent climb to the historic Piazzo del Campo in Siena.



The Canadian Contingent

There were four Canadians racing: Leah Kirchman of Team DSM, Magdeleine Vallieres and Sara Poidevin of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB and Olivia Baril of Valcar-Travel & Service. Baril was top Canadian last year.

The day’s early breakaway was a duo consisting of Emily Newsom (U.S.A) of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB and Rebecca Koerner (Denmark) of Uno-X Pro Cycling Team. Sector Two was too much for Koerner and after sector three Newsom led the peloton by three minutes, and Koerner by 38 seconds.

With 50 km to go, Newsom was back in the streamlined peloton.

On the long, hilly stretch in the Tuscan country between Sector 5 and 6 several moves tried to break free but could not, with SD Worx controlling. After a dig from reigning champion Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (SD Worx), Alena Amialiusik (Belarus/Canyon-SRAM Racing) and Marta Bastianelli (Italy/UAE Team ADQ) initiated a split of ten with 27 km remaining, Movistar having to chase.

Movistar drove into the foot of Sector 6. The steep white gravel decanted the field once more, with sixteen riders emerging from the dust. Belgian champion Kopecky attacked and took a 19-second lead into the penultimate 2.4 km sector, Colle Pinzuto. There, Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Poland/Canyon-SRAM Racing) closed the gap.

Cyclocross crossover Shirin van Anrooij (The Netherlands/Trek-Segafredo) made the Colle Pinzuto selection, along with Marianne Vos, van Vleuten, Kopecky and Niewiadoma. Again, the numbers in the front group swelled, the final sector looming.

Fifteen riders headed into the final 15 km. Van den Broek-Blaak did a flyer just before the last sector, Le Tolfe. Her SD Worx team had the numbers in the front group. Van Vleuten hit the gas and only Kopecky was able to match her.

Van Vleuten attacks on the final sector, only Kopecky able to match her.

Niewiadoma and Vos were among the main chasers. Two SD Worx riders were able to sit in. The duo was hauled back with 7.7 km to ride. SD Worx’s Ashleigh Moolman Pasio immediately made a dig before teammate Demi Vollering tried her luck. Van Vleuten kept closing.

It would come down to the Piazzo del Campo climb. Grace Brown (Australia/(FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) led onto the climb. Van Vleuten took up the reins. Kopecky laboured to keep the Dutch rider’s wheel. Kopecky kept her line going into the final curve and then out-lasted the two-time champion.

The next round of the WorldTour is next Saturday’s Ronde van Drenthe one-day race.

2022 Strade Bianche
1) Lotte Kopecky (Belgium/SD Worx) 3:49:13
2) Annemiek van Vleuten (The Netherlands/Movistar) s.t.
3) Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (South Africa/SD Worx) +0:10
31) Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada/EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) +4:16