Romandie hosts last UCI Women’s WorldTour battles before UCI Worlds

Setting the stage for Zurich 2024

Switzerland is a second home to many cyclists, be it for training camps, leisure riding or high-end racing. Just a couple of weeks before the 2024 UCI Road and Para-cycling Road World Championships in Zurich (21-29 September), the stars of the UCI Women’s WorldTour battled for three days in magnificent settings for the third edition of the Tour de Romandie Féminin. The rainbow stripes came to the fore in the Swiss race.

Former Junior (2016) and Elite (2021) UCI World Champion on the road - also crowned on the track -, Italian Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) set the tone with a powerful sprint on day 1, claiming victory in Lausanne. She finished ahead of the current holder of the rainbow jersey, Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime), who’s also claimed six UCI World Champion titles on the track.

After three stages, the Belgian UCI World Champion reigned supreme, claiming the overall victory ahead of her Dutch teammate Demi Vollering and Italy’s Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek). Kopecky is ready to defend her title, after a very successful year with the rainbow jersey (winner of the UAE Tour Women, Strade Bianche, Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, the Tour of Britain Women at UCI Women’s WorldTour level, and bronze medallist in the road race of the Olympic Games). But her rivals are gearing up for battle on the demanding course of Zurich 2024.

Balsamo back to her best

“The sprint was anything but a foregone conclusion today,” Balsamo explained after she survived a lively stage 1, with many attacks over the final hills, to sprint to victory. “Lauretta [Hanson] controlled [Elizabeth] Holden’s and [Christine] Majerus’ attack, while Ellen [van Dijk] kept a strong pace to avoid any further moves. The others kept me covered and in front until inside the last kilometre, then I took Kopecky’s wheel, which, without a doubt, was the one to fear.”

“I expected her to start on the last, hardest climb, about 400m from the finish,” Balsamo added. “When I saw her attacking, I just thought about going after her. I had a very long sprint, practically without taking a breath until the finish line.”

Winner of the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio and Classic Brugge-De Panne in the spring, after a more complicated 2023 that included injuries, Balsamo is back to her best, if not stronger than ever. But will it be enough to tame the ascents awaiting in Zurich?

Kopecky with the UCI Worlds on her mind

On day 2 of the Tour de Romandie Féminin, the Italian star had to let go of her leader’s jersey on the mighty slopes leading to the finish at Vercorin (9.6km, 8.2%). Two riders came together at the summit: Kopecky and Vollering.

It was the latter who claimed her 15th win of the season, the first since she saw the overall standings of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift escape her for 4’’ despite her dominant performance up the Alpe d’Huez.

“Of course it is always strange to sprint against a teammate, but this is the fairest,” Vollering said. “Then it really is woman-to-woman. For a moment I thought I had already dropped her, but just before the line she appeared next to me. It scared me for a moment, but luckily I was able to win anyway.”

Kopecky was still rewarded with the leader’s jersey and she went on to seal the overall deal on the next hilly day, around Morges, where Riejanne Markus (Team Visma|Lease a Bike) won the stage ahead of another SD Worx-Protime rider, Niamh Fisher-Black. Kopecky was third on the day, outsprinting the field behind the two early attackers.

“I came here to see how my form was,” the Belgian explained. “I am happy with where I am at the moment with a view to the UCI World Championships in Zurich in three weeks' time. After the European Time Trial Championships there will be another tough training block. But I am very happy with this final victory in the Tour de Romandie.”

Second in the overall standings, Vollering still leads the UCI Women's WorldTour ranking ahead of the events of the season to come after the UCI Worlds: the Simac Ladies Tour (8-13 October), the Tour of Chongming Island (15-17 October) and the Tour of Guangxi (20 October).