Silvia Persico delivered a perfectly timed counter to win the first edition of Veneto Women, attacking with 1.5 kilometres to go and finishing solo beneath the walls of the Verona Arena. UAE Team ADQ played the finale to perfection, using their numbers on the Torricelle circuit to soften up the select group before Persico slipped clear while Marlen Reusser tried to mark Elisa Longo Borghini. Reusser of Movistar took second in the sprint from Eleonora Gasparrini, with the podium decided 29 seconds after the winner.
Luccon’s long raid shapes the middle of the race
The 116-kilometre route from Vicenza to Verona opened with repeated probing from the Continental teams before Aude Biannic of Movistar made the first clear move at around 22 kilometres. Once the French rider was caught, Top Girls Fassa Bortolo persisted and unleashed Sara Luccon, who attacked after 38 kilometres and quickly established daylight.
Luccon’s advantage swelled past three minutes as the peloton eased, with Livielle Ongarato of Horizons Cycling briefly trying to bridge before being reeled in. The catch became inevitable once the race hit Verona and the Torricelle circuit for two final laps. Movistar and UAE Team ADQ moved to the front, lifted the pace and began to shrink the gap. With just over 30 kilometres remaining, Luccon’s solo was finally neutralised and the selection phase began in earnest.
UAE Team ADQ turn the screw on the Torricelle
The climb of the Torricelle split the field into a front group of around a dozen riders: Longo Borghini, Gasparrini and Persico of UAE Team ADQ; Reusser of Movistar; Mireia Benito and Urška Žigart of AG Insurance–Soudal; Soraya Paladin and Neve Bradbury of Canyon–Sram; plus BePink duo Silvia La Porta and Gaia Segato. As the tempo rose, Segato slid out of the back, followed by Paladin, while Žigart and Bradbury also lost contact under pressure.
Longo Borghini took on the bulk of the pace-making on the second ascent, cresting first across the top of the Torricelle with Reusser and Gasparrini on her wheel. On the run towards the city, accelerations came in waves. Reusser tried to prise open a gap, only for Longo Borghini to answer and counter. The duel between the Swiss time trial world champion and the Italian national road champion set the stage for what followed.
Persico’s counter on the run-in to the Arena
Inside the final five kilometres, the front group hesitated between attacks and marking. With four kilometres to go, Reusser opened the taps again, briefly putting Persico under pressure. The UAE rider clawed back, regrouped behind her team-mates and waited for the moment.
At 1.5 kilometres to go, just as Longo Borghini launched and Reusser reacted, Persico slipped off the front in a classic counter. There was no immediate chase. With Gasparrini policing behind and Longo Borghini forcing Reusser to respond, Persico’s gap became decisive on the fast approach to the finishing straight. She rounded the final bends alone and had time to sit up and celebrate her sixth career win.
Behind, Reusser and Gasparrini settled their podium in a sprint, the Swiss rider taking second ahead of the Italian. Benito arrived with them in fourth, while Longo Borghini rolled in for fifth after a workload that had helped set up the winning move.
UAE Team ADQ’s numbers make the difference
This was a textbook display from UAE Team ADQ. They assumed control when it mattered, used Longo Borghini to apply sustained pressure on the final ascents, and then exploited their two-pronged finish with Gasparrini shadowing the chasers while Persico attacked. Reusser fought to disrupt the sequence with repeated surges, yet the Emirati squad’s collective strength told in the final kilometres.
2025 Veneto Women result
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