The 2025 edition of La Picto-Charentaise saw a brilliant solo win from Dominika Wlodarczyk, who delivered UAE Team ADQ their second victory in as many days. After Paula Blasi’s triumph at La Périgord Ladies, it was the Polish rider’s turn to capitalise on a strong team performance. The 135 km route from Poitiers to Châtellerault featured exposed roads and late hills, but it was the final laps where the race truly came alive.
Despite the potential for early crosswinds to split the bunch, the peloton remained largely intact through the opening 80 kilometres. Several teams attempted to go clear but were marked out quickly, with UAE Team ADQ particularly attentive. With the wind blowing across the open fields of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the pace was high and positions nervy, though no echelons formed.
Heading into the finishing circuits around Châtellerault, UAE Team ADQ began to assert control. The team moved en masse to the front, with Paula Blasi again acting as the instigator. After softening the group with a stinging pull on the penultimate lap, Blasi’s effort set up Wlodarczyk perfectly.
With around 15 kilometres to go, Wlodarczyk launched her move, bridging to a short-lived solo leader before pushing clear on her own. The response behind was disorganised. Uno-X Mobility, Arkea-B&B Hotels, and Human Powered Health each had representation in the chase group, but there was little cooperation.
Wlodarczyk quickly gained time and maintained a strong rhythm across the final lap. As the peloton turned into the long finishing straight in Châtellerault, the gap was still over 30 seconds, and the outcome never looked in doubt. She crossed the line alone in a time of 3:13:12, taking her first win of the 2025 season and joining Marta Lach as a Polish winner of this race.
The chase group arrived 32 seconds later, led by Linda Zanetti of Uno-X Mobility. Her teammate Maria Giulia Confalonieri followed in third, with Marjolein van ’t Geloof, Lily Williams and Eline Jansen also in the front group. UAE Team ADQ further underlined their strength with Karlijn Swinkels taking 8th and Lara Gillespie 9th.
Further back, Kaja Rysz finished 55th at 1:34, and Wiktoria Pikulik came home in 63rd, four minutes down.
Dominika Wlodarczyk was beaming at the finish and gave full credit to her team:
“Second day of racing in France was a bit easier on paper, but with strong wind we expected a tough battle. We tried to create some echelons, but in the end everything stayed together until the local laps.”
She described how the win came together:
“With two laps to go, after Paula’s great work, I attacked. First I joined another rider at the front, and then I went solo. I’m so, so happy I could finish off all the hard work we put into this race! From the girls to the staff – everyone was simply amazing and I couldn’t be more proud of us!”
2025 La Picto-Charentaise result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Aymeric Lassak
