Matilde Vitillo of Liv AlUla Jayco Continental took a memorable home win at the inaugural Giro dell’Appennino Donne in Genoa, proving quickest in a decisive three-rider sprint. The 24-year-old Italian, also a former European junior champion in the points race and team pursuit, as well as a junior world champion in the team pursuit, was part of a successful breakaway that went clear on the hilly course.
Vitillo joined Irene Cagnazzo and Gaia Segato of BePink-Imatra-Bongioanni after the Passo dei Giovi climb. The trio built a lead of 1:10 by the 20-kilometre mark and stayed away all the way to Genoa.
In the final kilometre, Vitillo surged to the front early on the rising finishing straight, crossing the line several bike lengths ahead of Cagnazzo in second and Segato in third.
“It’s an extra special victory,” Vitillo said afterwards. “The Giro dell’Appennino Donne is held so close to my home and that’s why I came here last week to do a recon. We decided to go full gas on the flat part early to make it difficult for everyone. Kaia Schmid and I were up there on the climbs, and on the Livellato the breakaway exploded. I managed to stay with the two BePink riders and from then on it was very tactical. They attacked alternately and I had to respond every time. Finally, with 150 metres to go, I gave everything I had left. I’m so proud of my team, they all worked incredibly hard today.”
Elsewhere, Elisa Valtulini took fourth at 1:45 behind, while German talent Jule Markl sprinted home in 11th to record her best UCI finish as an elite rider. Markl, racing for Canyon//SRAM Generation, crossed the line alongside teammate Awen Roberts at 2:26.
Reflecting on her day, Markl explained: “I felt quite tired going into the race after La Volta Ciclista Femenina a Osona, so my expectations weren’t too high. But my legs felt better than I thought. Our plan was to support Maria Martins if she was there after the second climb, or for me, Awen, and Emily Dixon to try something if not. Splits happened early on the first climb and we missed the front group. From there we chased, tried to close the gap, and I eventually won the sprint from my group. Given we were only four riders and had been racing a lot lately, I’m satisfied with this, although with better positioning on the descents we could have achieved more.”
With her first road win of the season in the bag, Vitillo will look ahead to the Italian National Championships and then the Giro d’Italia Donne, where her team will aim to continue this strong momentum into the summer.
2025 Giro dell’Appennino Donne result
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