Race Information & History
Race Type: Hilly Classic
The Trofeo Alfredo Binda, named after the legendary Italian rider from the 1920s and 30s, famous for his rivalry with Costante Girardengo, is one of the longest still-running women’s races on the calendar. The first race was in 1974 and won by Giuseppina Micheloni. Surprisingly it only took a year for a foreign rider to win for the first time. In 1975, the Belgian 1973 World Champion Nicolle Van Den Broeck took the race win. It then took non-Italians another 24 years to win the race.
There were a few repeat winners in the 1980s. Maria Canins won the race 4 times to go with her 2 victories in the Women’s Tour de France (Grande Boucle) and a single victory in the Giro Rosa. She was also a 6-time Italian National Champion for good measure. Elisabetta Fanton won twice in 1988 and 1989. She was also an Italian National Champion in 1990.
The 1999 Italian National Champion, Valeria Cappellotto, won the race in both 1995 and 1996. And yet another National Champion (1996, 2004, 2006, 2008) in Fabiana Luperini won in each of 1994 and 2000. The turn of the millennium changed things though and the internationalisation of the peloton took hold. Only in 2013 has an Italian (Elisa Longo Borghini) won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda.
Brit Nicole Cooke won in both 2005 and 2007 and Emma Pooley carried on the British domination with wins in 2008 and 2011. Lizzie Deignan is also a double-winner in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The undoubted Queen of the race in modern times though is Marianne Vos with 4 victories – 2009, 2010, 2012 & 2019.
Greatest Race
2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda
In truly abysmal conditions, Kasia Niewiadoma took a solo victory. With no break to speak of, the riders were content to wait until the finishing circuit to start the real racing. 4 laps of a lumpy 17.8km circuit were tackled. Soraya Paladin attacked and gained 20 seconds but was soon pulled back into the peloton. The next attempted break saw Alena Amialiusik and Ane Santesteban gain 50 seconds on the peloton.
With a lap to go, Megan Guarnier and
On the final Orino climb, riders attacked. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Amialiusik again and Canuel but to no avail. It was Kasia Niewiadoma who streaked away solo with 8km left to race. She was able to descend the climb safely in the rain and take the win by 23 seconds. Behind
Iconic Section
The Azzio climb forms the last sharp test for riders and it is positioned perfectly for late attacks. It’s a relatively short steep climb, perfect for acceleration by riders still with something like to give at the end of a hard day of racing. Those with no energy left are found wanting!
