Valentina Cavallar claimed her maiden professional victory at the Alpes Grésivaudan Classic with a commanding solo ride to the summit of the Collet d’Allevard. The Austrian climber overhauled a long-range breakaway led by her teammate Lotte Claes and Canada’s Nadia Gontova, before powering clear on the steep final ascent to take her first win and secure a one-two finish for Arkéa-B&B Hotels.
The fourth edition of the Alpes Grésivaudan Classic took the riders over 111.8km with 3,000 metres of climbing from Saint-Martin-d’Uriage to the summit finish at Collet d’Allevard. It was a day built for climbers, and Arkéa-B&B Hotels came in as the clear favourites, with Cavallar carrying strong form after her top-10 at the Vuelta a Burgos.
The decisive move began with Lotte Claes attacking on the descent of the Côte de Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, around 40km from the finish. She opened up a gap of nearly three minutes alongside Gontova, with the rest of her team managing the chase behind. “We were the strongest team,” Claes later said. “The plan was for me to go all the way, but in the end, Valentina was just flying.”
As the road kicked up on the final climb, Cavallar surged away from the chase group and began closing the gap alone. She passed Gontova in the final kilometres before also catching Claes, then kept pushing clear to win by almost 90 seconds.
Behind her, Claes rode in for second, sealing an Arkéa-B&B Hotels 1-2, while Gontova settled for third. Petra Stiasny was fourth, and Valentina Venerucci, riding for AR Monex, took an impressive fifth – her best ever result at this level in her debut elite season.
Reactions: breakthrough moment for Cavallar
After the finish, Cavallar reflected on her journey to the top step of the podium. “I’m very happy with my race and this first victory in the professional ranks,” she said. “I raced this event last year as one of my first races and finished fourth, so I knew it suited me.”
The former Olympic rower described how the team executed a flawless plan. “Lotte went in the early move and forced the others to chase, then on the final climb I found my rhythm and caught everyone. It was really hard – my legs were burning – but I kept going.”
This win was all the more special after recent setbacks. “I had a knee infection last week and had to take antibiotics. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel, but apparently the rest helped because I felt great today.”
Sport director Gaël Le Bellec praised the team’s cohesion and execution. “A double! You have to enjoy it when it happens. The team rode with maturity and confidence. Lotte and Valentina were perfectly positioned and executed the plan with precision. It was a performance we hadn’t seen yet this year from Valentina, and it’s a big step for her.”
Claes, who did much of the groundwork for the result, was full of praise for her teammate. “Valentina is one of the strongest climbers in the world. I’m really happy for her and proud we worked together so well. We followed the plan and it paid off.”
Cavallar now heads into the upcoming Tour des Pyrénées with added confidence and momentum. “There’s still a lot for me to learn,” she said, “but I feel I’m making progress every race.”
2025 Alpes Grésivaudan Classic result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Arkea-B&B Hotels
