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Named after legendary Italian rider Alfredo Binda, the Trofeo Alfredo Binda takes place in the Cittiglio region of Lombardy, in northern Italy. A race traditionally suited to versatile GC-style riders and climbers, last season’s race defied expectation by finishing in a reduced bunch sprint, won by then world champion Elisa Balsamo of Trek-Segafredo.
The race constitutes the seventh round of the 2023 Women’s WorldTour, which has already seen some thrilling battles, along with a quite astonishing display of dominance across the board from Team SD Worx, who have taken wins at 50% of the WWT races so far including the last three, with Lotte Kopecky going solo at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Demi Vollering pipping her team-mate to the victory at Strade Bianche and Lorena Wiebes storming clear at the Ronde van Drenthe last weekend.
This year’s Trofeo Alfredo Binda takes place on Sunday March 19. It will be the 47th edition of the race, which saw its inaugural edition in 1974. The race has been won by an Italian rider 26 times, including the past two editions. The race is 139km in length this year and sees repeated undulations and barely any flat all day, but despite the demands of the parcours, it’s still anybody’s guess as to how the race will play out.
Route
While its final circuit always focuses on the hills of Cittiglio, the route for the opening section of the race undergoes small changes year on year. Beginning in the town of Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca, on the banks of Lake Maggiore, the 2023 race route hugs the coast of the lake as it heads south for the first 12.5km before heading inland towards the first, uncategorised, climb of the day.
From there the route doubles back on itself before tackling the first proper climb of the day, the Masciago Primo. 5.1km of ascent at an average pitch of 4.6%, this challenge will likely offer the ideal launchpad for the day’s early break. Heading west after that, the riders will contest the first of three intermediate sprints in Besozzo, before another climb and descent takes the bunch across the finish line in the town of Cittiglio for the first time after 68km.
At this point the peloton will enter a circuit that features repeated ascents of a set of tricky climbs. The short but punchy Casale (0.8km at 7%), and the longer Orino (2.6km at 5%) are both tackled four times, with various other lumps and bumps along the way around Cittiglio. The teams with strong climbers are…
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