Liane Lippert wins 2026 Veneto Women after Marlen Reusser sets up decisive Monte Berico attack

Liane Lippert won the 2026 Veneto Women with a decisive attack on the final climb to Monte Berico, completing a well-executed Movistar finale after Marlen Reusser helped deliver her into position.

The German escaped from an eight-rider lead group on the uphill run to the finish in Vicenza and quickly opened a gap. Loes Adegeest led the chase for Lidl-Trek and finished second at four seconds, while Italian champion Elisa Longo Borghini took third at six seconds.

Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini was fourth as UAE Team L’IMAD placed four riders in the decisive group without turning that numerical advantage into victory. Noemi Rüegg completed the top five ahead of Mavi García, Reusser and Karlijn Swinkels.

How it unfolded

The second edition of Veneto Women reversed the direction of the inaugural race, starting in Verona and heading towards Vicenza rather than finishing beside the Arena. The 106.8km route contained only around 600 metres of climbing, but most of the difficulty was packed into the closing section.

The final circuit around Vicenza brought the race onto the steep roads surrounding the Santuario di Monte Berico, where double-digit gradients and the uphill finish on Viale X Giugno were always likely to favour the strongest puncheurs.

The opening half was aggressive without producing an immediate decisive move. Uno-X Mobility spent time controlling the front while repeated attacks tried to establish a break before the race reached the more difficult roads around Vicenza.

A six-rider group eventually gained some separation after more than half the race had been completed. Recent Giro dell’Emilia Donne winner Alessia Vigilia and Swinkels were among those involved, but Movistar and Lidl-Trek kept the gap under control.

The advantage never stretched much beyond 35 seconds and, with around 20km remaining, the move was brought back. From there, the flatter opening kilometres mattered very little. The final climbs would decide the race.

Monte Berico creates the decisive selection

The winning group formed during the final passage through the hilly circuit, shortly after the second descent from Arcugnano.

Eight riders moved clear and the composition immediately shaped the tactics. UAE Team L’IMAD had four riders through Longo Borghini, Gasparrini, García and Swinkels. Movistar had Lippert and Reusser, while Adegeest and Rüegg completed the group.

UAE had the obvious numerical advantage. With four riders in eight, they had several possible ways to attack the finale and force their rivals to respond, while Longo Borghini and Gasparrini both offered strong options if the group stayed together.

Movistar had fewer numbers but a useful pairing. Reusser could drive the group, close moves and increase the pace before the final climb, leaving Lippert to concentrate on the section of road that suited her best.

The eight leaders worked well enough to keep the peloton out of the picture. Their advantage reached around 30 seconds inside the final five kilometres, leaving the victory to be settled among the riders already at the front.

Reusser sets up Lippert on the final climb

UAE’s four-rider presence never developed into the sequence of attacks that might have forced Movistar onto the defensive.

Instead, Reusser was still alongside Lippert at the foot of the final climb and took responsibility as the gradient began to rise. The Swiss rider increased the pace on the approach to the steepest part of Monte Berico, stretching the group before Lippert made her move.

The German attacked from the front rather than waiting for a reduced sprint. She immediately opened several bike lengths, and on such a short final climb there was little time for anyone behind to hesitate.

Adegeest was the strongest in pursuit and came past the UAE riders as she tried to close the gap, but Lippert had already created enough separation.

Lippert holds off Adegeest to win in Vicenza

Lippert maintained her advantage through the final metres and crossed the line alone in 2:39:17.

Adegeest arrived four seconds later for second, continuing a strong late-season run that included victory at Kreiz Breizh Elites Féminin. Longo Borghini took third at six seconds, with Gasparrini only another second behind in fourth.

Rüegg finished fifth at 14 seconds, García sixth at 23 and Reusser seventh at 25 after working for Lippert in the finale. Swinkels was the final rider from the original eight-woman selection, finishing eighth at 54 seconds.

Alejandra Neira led the next riders home in ninth at 1:44, with Ricarda Bauernfeind completing the top 10 for Lidl-Trek.

Movistar make two riders count against UAE’s four

The finale was a useful example of why Reusser and Lippert work well together in this type of one-day race.

Reusser did not need to attack from distance or ride for her own result. Her job was to keep the pace high, prevent UAE from making full use of their numbers and deliver Lippert into the section where her acceleration could decide the race.

Lippert still had to finish it, and she did so cleanly. Rather than gambling on beating Longo Borghini, Gasparrini or Adegeest from a compact group at the line, she created the separation herself.

It was also an effective way to close her one-day season. Lippert’s previous victory had come at the Vuelta CV Feminas in February, where another late acceleration allowed her to escape before the finish.

Between those victories she had collected a series of strong results, including third overall at the Tour of Britain Women and fourth at the Grand Prix de Wallonie. Veneto Women converted that consistency into another win.

UAE dominate the move but miss the victory

For UAE Team L’IMAD, the final classification was strong without delivering the result their numbers had made possible.

The team had won the inaugural Veneto Women in 2025 through Silvia Persico after repeatedly using its strength in numbers against the decisive group. Twelve months later, four UAE riders again reached the key move together, but Movistar prevented them from creating the same uncertainty.

Longo Borghini still gave the home crowd a podium, while Gasparrini, García and Swinkels all finished inside the top eight. Few teams could have asked for greater representation when the winning group formed.

The difference was that Lippert had the strongest acceleration on Monte Berico, and Reusser made sure she reached that moment in the right position to use it.

Veneto Women 2026 result