Kopecky takes her second career Strade Bianche Donne title

The world champion beat the Italian champion on the final climb of Saturday’s 10th Strade Bianche Donne in Tuscany, Italy. Lotte Kopecky claimed her second title, having also won in 2022. SD Worx-Protime has now won four in a row; last season’s champ Demi Vollering finished third on Saturday.

The Course

Twelve of the 15 gravel sectors of the men’s route were shared with the Donne course, a total of 40 km of white roads in the whole 137 km. The longest stretch of gravel was Sector 5, 9.5 km with a kilometre climb of 6.9 percent to finish. The final 24 km contained three sectors, the last with 12 km remaining. In Siena, with 900 metres to the finish line, the race route passed beneath Fontebranda Gate where the road turned to cobbles. The gradient kicked up to 10 percent until 500 metres from the line, with a maximum gradient of 16 percent along Via Santa Caterina.

Four former champions were on the start line in Sienna: Elisa Longo Borghini, Lizzie Deignan, Kopecky and reigning queen Vollering. Last season SD Worx-Protime went one-two with Vollering and Kopecky and week after it had gone one-two with Vollering and Lorena Wiebes at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Last week Marianne Vos, Kopecky and Longo Borghini finished in that order in OHN.

The Canadian contingent was Simone Boilard (Uno-X Mobility), Alison Jackson and Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada/EF Education-Cannondale) and Olivia Baril (Movistar).

Tuscany, you beauty 😍#UCIWWT #StradeBianche
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— UCI_WWT (@UCI_WWT) March 2, 2024

The peloton reached the fifth sector of white gravel, the taxing San Martino in Grania, intact. Uno-X started leaning into their work and the pack was streamlined to 60 women. The longest sectors were over. Deignan was part of an 11-strong escape that lit out on the steep Colle Pinzuto sector among the vineyards, 50 km remaining. By the first time on the Le Tolfe sector, the gap was 1:10.

Kopecky took responsibility for the chase on Le Tolfe.

In the long recess between sectors, the breakaway shattered into pieces and the Kopecky chase drew closer. By the third-to-last sector, a trio was at the pointy end of the race and 20 chased 20 seconds behind. Lidl-Trek finally made the capture before the penultimate climb.

Lidl-Trek pulled 23 Canadianless riders onto the second rumble across Colle Pinzuto. Vollering accelerated to string out the bunch. Puck Pieterse tried her luck….