One year on, Eleonora Gasparrini is once again the Queen in Stuttgart. The Italian rider claimed victory today at the Women’s Cycling Grand Prix Stuttgart & Region with a brilliant attack launched in the final 2 km, crowning the outstanding teamwork of UAE Team ADQ.
The race featured a 124.2 km route from Filderstadt to Stuttgart with a strong field of contenders at the start. UAE Team ADQ adopted an aggressive race strategy and was at the forefront of the action throughout the day.
Fee Knaven and Sofia Bertizzolo did the early hard work at the head of the bunch, while Dominika Wlodarczyk, Silvia Persico, and Karlijn Swinkels were highly active in the decisive phases.
After an acceleration by Persico on the climb, Karlijn Swinkels launched a strong attack with two laps to go. The Dutch rider gained a solid advantage and was only reeled in by the peloton a few kilometers from the finish.
At that point, following a new acceleration from Wlodarczyk, Eleonora Gasparrini seized the moment and counter-attacked. Her perfectly timed move surprised the rivals, and she powered away to take the win — her second victory of the season and the sixth of her career.
After the race, Eleonora Gasparrini commented: “We had a very clear plan today: to race aggressively, and that’s exactly what we did from the start. All the girls were amazing. Sofia and Fee worked hard to keep us at the front, and then Dominika, Silvia, and Karlijn responded to all the moves and also tried their own attacks. Then Karlijn went for a solo move with two laps to go, and she opened up a good gap because on this circuit it’s not easy to chase, so for us it was the perfect situation and we stayed calm in the bunch. They managed to bring her back in the finale, and at that point we were ready to attack again. Dominika made one last effort on a short climb, and seeing that Elisa Balsamo was still there, I decided to anticipate the sprint and try a long-range move, just like I did a year ago. I attacked more or less at the same point, opened a gap, and managed to hold it to the finish line. I’m really happy. Thanks to the whole team because I think we all raced perfectly today, and we truly deserved this victory.”
(ph. inflame events)
