Eleonora Gasparrini wins 2026 Tre Valli Varesine Women after catching break late

Eleonora Gasparrini won the 2026 Tre Valli Varesine Women’s Race after UAE Team L’IMAD played the final kilometres from two positions. The Italian came through from the reduced front group to beat Sarah van Dam and Noemi Rüegg in Varese, completing the move after a late attack from teammate Karlijn Swinkels had forced the chase behind.

Swinkels went clear inside the final two kilometres with Nikola Nosková trying to stay with her, but the gap was steadily closed on the run into Via Sacco. Once the move was caught, Gasparrini was in the right position to contest the sprint and finished the job, with Van Dam second and Rüegg third. Kate Courtney and Malou Eisen completed the top five.

How the 2026 Tre Valli Varesine Women unfolded

The 133.9km race from Busto Arsizio to Varese featured an opening road section before six laps of the finishing circuit. Katharina Palm and Fariba Hashimi were among the first riders to try to open the race, attacking with around 126km remaining, before Linda Zanetti made another move six kilometres later.

The racing continued to break up and reform as the peloton approached Varese. Maya Kingma and Sara Luccon attacked with 74km to go, but their move lasted only a couple of kilometres before they were brought back. Aude Biannic was the next rider to go clear at 56km, followed by a larger move involving around ten riders as the pressure increased on the circuit.

Visma | Lease a Bike took responsibility in the bunch with 47km remaining, helping to keep the race within reach before Nosková attacked at 45km. EF Education-Oatly and Visma | Lease a Bike were prominent at the front again approaching the final 40km, while Silvia Persico and Henrietta Christie both tried moves as the repeated climbs continued to reduce the field.

A larger group containing Solbjørk Minke Anderson, Jeanne Korevaar, Zanetti, Palm and Hashimi was brought back with 31km remaining. Femke de Vries attacked shortly afterwards, and the Dutch rider remained one of the main aggressors as the race entered its final two laps. Maud Oudeman and Maud Rijnbeek were caught at 25km, keeping the front of the race fluid rather than allowing one move to settle.

Amber Kraak, Loes Adegeest and Biannic were reeled in with 14km to go. De Vries immediately tried again at 13km and then drove the pace in the peloton as the final circuit began to take shape. The repeated accelerations had left a much smaller group in contention, but no rider had yet managed to create the decisive separation.

With three kilometres remaining, the gap between the first two groups was coming down. Swinkels then attacked at 2km, giving UAE Team L’IMAD a rider ahead while Gasparrini could wait behind. Nosková fought to stay in contact with the Dutch rider as the chase reorganised, but the advantage was too small to survive all the way to the line.

The catch came in the final kilometre and changed the race back into a sprint from the reduced group. Gasparrini had not needed to contribute to the chase while Swinkels was ahead, and she used that position to launch for the line once the attackers were brought back. Van Dam came through for second, with Rüegg taking the final place on the podium.

2026 Tre Valli Varesine Women Result