Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Live coverage

No word from the team as to why Kristen Faulkner didn’t start this morning, but she crashed during Wednesday’s Nokere Koerse so may be still feeling the effects. 

Remember, the circuits don’t start until 68km has already been completed, so we could see something of a race of two halves. 

There’s a small rise in the first 20km that could be a launchpad for a breakaway to go.

Or the peloton may not split until the first categorised climb, which starts in 30km.

That means we’ve got 135 riders racing today.

How many of them will contest the finish? This race can come down to anything from a sizeable bunch sprint to a long solo move. 

One late non-starter: Jayco-AlUla’s Kristen Faulkner won’t be racing today. 

It’s been quite a week for Faulkner after she was handed a disqualification for wearing a glucose monitor at Strade Bianche.

OFFICIAL START GIVEN

And the flag has dropped!

We’re away and racing – 139km to go.

Some big questions to be answered today at the 7th round of the Women’s WorldTour.

Can SD Worx continue their winning streak? Will the Italians flood the podium again? Cyclingnews discussed the biggest talking points in our Trofeo Binda preview.

This is the 24th time the Trofeo Alfredo Binda has featured on the top-level women’s calendar, but it’s been going a lot longer than that.

It was first raced in 1974, making it the oldest race on the current women’s calendar.

The neutral start has just been given and the peloton is rolling out of Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca.

4km to go until the real start.

This is a race that is well-suited to puncheurs – Elisa Longo Borghini, Lizzie Deignan and Kasia Niewiadoma are among its winners – but there are quite a few sprinters lining up today.

Elisa Balsamo won in 2022, or could Lorena Wiebes survive the climbs to notch up yet another win for her and SD Worx?

The teams are ready for the start: 

Vos has won Trofeo Binda four times, but this may be more a test of form for the Dutch woman who hasn’t raced since cyclocross nationals in January.

“The Trofeo Alfredo Binda is a race that I love to ride,” she said recently. “The first race of the season always brings a few extra nerves. I’m looking forward to starting the race with the team.”

To update you on the start list: Elisa Longo Borghini isn’t here today after suffering from Covid, and SD Worx’s Barbara Guarischi is a late drop out.

In positive news, Marta Cavalli is set to start after taking a break from racing, and Marianne Vos is also lining up again after surgery on her iliac artery. 

Trofeo Binda is a rare women’s WorldTour race that also have a juniors race.

That race concluded not long ago, and was won by Great Britain’s Cat Ferguson. 

There are a couple of climbs in the first portion of the day – chiefly the Masciago Primo, 5.1km at 4.6% – but as they’re pretty far out, it will be the repeated hilly laps that should be decisive. 

There are also three sprint points at kms 23, 54 and 74. 

Starting in Maccagno, the peloton will start off hugging the shores of Lake Maggiore before turning inland towards Cittiglio and the climbs.

They’ll do four laps of the 17.5km finishing circuit, which includes the climbs to Orino and Casale.

The peloton will be getting ready for the start in Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca now.

It’s a warmer day than the snowy Ronde van Drenthe last weekend – the temperature is around 15 °C in Cittiglio today. 

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews’ live coverage of Trofeo Alfredo Binda!

I’m Matilda and I’ll be here to guide you through all the action from the oldest women’s Classic.