With three riders in the final selection, Canyon-SRAM produced a masterclass of tactics at Trofeo Alfredo Binda. After some disappointing results, measured against the talent in their squad over recent seasons, this time they nailed it. With brute-force team work in miserable conditions, they set up a winning move for Kasia Niewiadoma … a move the Pole finished off perfectly.

Apparently taking inspiration from Vincenzo Nibali’s nail-biting win at Milan-San Remo, Niewiadoma shot clear on the final ascent of the Orino climb and barrelled down a sketchy descent to take a glorious solo win. An elite chase group behind just couldn’t get themselves organised in time to close the Polish rider down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgenD1qDq8z/

Although she wasn’t the winner, the star of the show was Alena Amialiusik, returned from injury, who produced a battering ram performance to set up Niewiadoma and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to launch repeated moves in the finale.

With Amialiusik having been in the key break for almost 30 kilometers, and then chasing anything that moved in the final stages, the win was a reward for her efforts.

The race

It was a damp, murky day, which kicked off in cold temperatures in Taino’s Piazza Pajetta. Approaching the final hour of the race, Amialiusik (Canyon-SRAM) burned clear with Ale Cipollini’s Ane Santesteban, and although Wiggle-High5’s Elinor Barker chased desperately, she made contact only briefly, before being dropped into no-woman’s-land.

Boels-Dolmans started to move to the front with Amalie Dideriksen forcing the pace from the start of the penultimate short lap.

30kms to go saw a small chase group split off the front of the main field, driven by Karol-Ann Canuel (Boels-Dolmans) which allowed her American team-mate Megan Guarnier to jump away with Movistar’s Malgorzata Jasinka.

Up front, Amialiusik was doing the bulk of the work, with Santesteban seemingly unable to contribute much behind the flying Belorussian. The Spaniard did nip through for the GPM on the Orino climb as Guarnier and Jasinka closed in with 25kms to race.

With four together, the lead went out towards a minute with 20 kilometers left, as the main field started to fray around the edges under pressure from Sunweb.

Amialiusik led the escape through the bell, as Wiggle-High5’s Martina Ritter piled more speed on the front of the peloton. 15 to go: Niewiadoma launched a big acceleration, which pulled the long-time leaders back, and saw thirteen clip off the front before Canuel then dragged the Pole, and Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) away.

It was all back together inside 12kms to race: Ferrand-Prevot jumped next for Canyon-SRAM, and when she was pulled back Amialiusik went immediately, countered by Canuel and Michelton-Scott’s Amanda Spratt.

With 10 to go Amialiusik jumped again chased by Canuel. It was the perfect Launchpad for Niewiadoma to try again with a fearsome acceleration. Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) couldn’t produce enough power to close the gap as everyone else looked to the Italian to do the work.

Ahead, Niewiadoma committed totally to her attack, phlegm dripping from her face and her breath appearing in huge clouds as the temperature fell to 4° Celsius at the finish.

She lead over the final Orino GPM, chased by Lucy Kennedy (Michelton-Scott), but the Australian was pulled back on the descent to the finish inside the last three kilometers. Longo Borghini launched another solo chase of Niewiadoma inside two to go … but it was much too late.

An emotional Niewiadoma powered home to take a fine solo win. Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans) edged Marianne Vos (Waowdeals) for second. Amialiusik and Ferrand-Prevot came home in the front group punching the air, and the Belorussian thankfully survived unscathed after being taken out in an inadvertent crash with an official.

Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Sunday 18 March 2018, 131 kilometers

1 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM)     3hrs 32’ 52”

2 Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans)     + 23”

3 Marianne Vos (Waowdeals)

4 Amanda Spratt (Michelton-Scott)

5 Alena Amialiusik (Canyon-SRAM)

6 Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon-SRAM)

7 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Cervelo-Bigla)

8 Karol-Ann Canuel (Boels-Dolmans)

9 Lucy Kennedy (Michelton-Scott)

10 Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5)    all same time