Karlijn Swinkels capped a stormy end to the Challenge Mallorca Femenina with a punchy, perfectly-timed win at the Trofeo Binissalem-Andratx, sealing victory for UAE Team ADQ after a wind-shortened day that only truly came alive once a star-studded break finally got clear.
The Dutch rider beat Liane Lippert of Movistar in a three-rider uphill sprint on the steep ramps of the 2.3km Port d’Andratx finish, with Mie Bjørndal Ottestad of Uno-X Mobility completing the podium. It made it two wins from three race days for UAE Team ADQ, following Maëva Squiban’s victory in the series opener.
What happened in the race
High winds shaped the story before the flag even dropped. The original 107km route was reduced to a sharper 75km, still packed with climbing and still finishing atop the Port d’Andratx, but with less time for the race to settle into any rhythm.
That shorter distance made the early kilometres unusually controlled. The peloton kept the pace high and the bunch compact, and attempts to go up the road struggled to gain any real traction through the opening 40km and over the first climb of the day, the Coll den Claret.
The breakthrough came late, with around 35km remaining, when a strong eight-rider move finally established separation on the rolling terrain between the categorised climbs. Anna Henderson of Lidl-Trek was prominent as it formed, and she was joined by Cat Ferguson and Liane Lippert for Movistar, Karlijn Swinkels and Eleonora Gasparrini for UAE Team ADQ, Thalita de Jong of Human Powered Health, Mie Bjørndal Ottestad of Uno-X Mobility, and Debora Silvestri of Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi.
With so much horsepower in the move, and with the major teams represented, the urgency evaporated behind. The gap grew steadily, and the peloton began to thin as the wind and repeated rises took their toll.
The key moments before the finish
Over the Coll de sa Gramola, Movistar and UAE Team ADQ used their numbers to keep the tempo high in the lead group, ensuring the move stayed clear without burning their finishing options too early.
Henderson then sharpened the race again on the descent, pressing on to put the others under pressure. The group regrouped on the flatter run-in, but the damage had been done behind. By the time the leaders reached the final 8km and turned towards Port d’Andratx, their advantage had stretched, and the day was set for a climb-based showdown rather than a late catch.
Ferguson, the previous day’s winner, worked hard in support of Lippert as the road tilted upwards, and she was the first to drift away once the real climbing began.
The Port d’Andratx finale
UAE Team ADQ played the finale with clarity. With 1.5km to go, Gasparrini opened the first serious move, forcing a response and setting a hard, awkward tempo on a flatter section. When the gradient bit again, the race distilled into the three strongest finishers on the climb: Swinkels, Lippert and Ottestad.
The trio measured each other through the final bends, with no one keen to commit too early on a finish that punished hesitation. Swinkels struck first and, crucially, carried her momentum all the way to the line. Lippert could not come around, and Ottestad held on for third in a tight, uphill sprint.
2026 Trofeo Binissalem-Andratx women’s race results
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
