Sandra Alonso emerged victorious at the final Women’s WorldTour race of the 2024 season, the Tour of Guangxi, after a breakaway with Giada Borghesi in the tropical heat of Nanning, China. The Spanish rider out-sprinted Borghesi to take her first WorldTour win, while Marta Lach completed the podium by finishing third after winning the bunch sprint.
The race, held on a 27.2km circuit repeated five times, featured a punishing 1.4km climb at an average gradient of 11%, ensuring a hard-fought competition. Early attacks came and went, with Idoia Eraso launching a solo move to take mountain points, but the decisive action came with 35km remaining when Borghesi made her move on the climb. Alonso reacted swiftly, and together, they built a lead of over a minute by the final lap.
With the peloton struggling to form a cohesive chase, Borghesi and Alonso worked together until the last few kilometres. On the final climb, Borghesi attempted to push the pace, but Alonso held on, staying in the slipstream and refusing to take the front. As the pair approached the finish, Alonso timed her sprint to perfection, launching from behind Borghesi with 175 metres to go and crossing the line for the win.
Behind them, the chase group was unable to close the gap, and with teammates of both Borghesi and Alonso disrupting any attempts to pull the duo back, the peloton fragmented further. Marta Lach sprinted to third place, followed by her teammate Kathrin Schweinberger in fourth, completing a strong showing for the Ceratizit-WNT riders.
Speaking after the race, Borghesi reflected on her performance: “I put in a good attack, but it was thanks to Giorgia who from the car convinced me to try to go. Together with Alonso, we made a nice breakaway and pushed a lot to the finish.”
Despite finishing second, Borghesi was proud of her effort, especially after overcoming a difficult season that included a broken elbow at the Giro d’Italia. “It’s a great feeling to make a WorldTour podium and finish my first season in a WorldTour team like this,” she said.
2024 Women’s Tour of Guangxi result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
