Elisa Balsamo achieved two victories in two days in Setmana Ciclista – Volta Comunitat Valenciana Fèmines after another perfect day for Trek-Segafredo.
Three categorized climbs in the first half of the stage had the potential to put the status quo of a group sprint, but once again Trek-Segafredo had a plan.
The Italian showed no signs of faltering as the race headed up the steepest inclines, consistently being in the front of the pack and staying with the best climbers of the race, even when attacks split the group.
Within the last 20 kilometers of the 116 kilometer stage, Balsamo was left in a reduced field with Amanda Spratt, Gaia Realini and Ilaria Sanguineti. The latter played a crucial role in the victory of her teammate, who launched it 1 km from the end of the stage.
Elisa Balsamo’s reaction:
“It was not easy, many climbs at the beginning, but in the end Ilaria again did a great job so I had a perfect lead. The sprint is never easy, but yes, it was good, so we are very satisfied. I was third at the last roundabout, which was the perfect position for the sprint. Tomorrow will be the queen stage for our two climbers, we have very strong climbers in our team, so they will surely have a lot of fun. For me, not much, but I will survive.”
“It’s like a dream to me [tener a Yaya de vuelta] because we have been working together for many years and for me she is the best in this job. Last year when I spoke to Ina [Teutenberg, DS] on the way out and I mentioned Ilaria’s name, she was also very happy to have her on the team. Today was different because Ilaria handed me 1km to go UAE wheel. I was struggling on the climbs but I made it!”
