Martina Fidanza delivered her first road win for Visma | Lease a Bike on the second day of the Festival Elsy Jacobs weekend, outpacing Valentine Fortin and Barbara Guarischi in a reduced sprint in Cessange. The 25-year-old Italian, who joined the Dutch team from Ceratizit-WNT over the winter, executed a well-timed and long sprint at the end of a 121.6km race that had steadily shed riders lap after lap.
The race consisted of eight laps of a 15.2km circuit based in and around Cessange, featuring a short but punchy 200-metre climb through the Rue Tubis finish each time. Although the parcours was not mountainous, the persistent pace and repeated drag through the line whittled down the peloton significantly as the laps ticked by.
Visma | Lease a Bike came into the day looking to control proceedings after a strong showing on Saturday. The team was quick to make its presence felt again on Sunday. At around 60km to go, a group broke clear that included Eva van Agt and Rosita Reijnhout from Visma | Lease a Bike. Also present were Saturday’s winner Marta Lach and her teammate Steffi Häberlin, Lonneke Uneken and Margot Vanpachtenbeke from VolkerWessels, Sarah Van Dam from Ceratizit Pro Cycling, Noä Jansen of Liv AlUla Jayco, and Ilse Pluimers from AG Insurance-Soudal. Valentine Fortin also made the move for Cofidis.
This group represented a strong and diverse mix of teams, and at one stage, it looked like the winning move could have been among them. However, the cooperation faltered, and by the time the race hit the final lap, the front group had been swept up by what was left of the peloton. Just 25 riders remained in contention heading into the final 15km.
At that point, Visma | Lease a Bike took full control. With a unified team still in the group, they lined out on the front and dictated the pace, shutting down further moves and preparing the run-in for Fidanza. The final approach was fast and aggressive, with the climb through Rue Tubis ensuring that positioning was critical in the closing kilometres.
“We wanted to make the race hard and also to give an opportunity to all my teammates to feel free to do their own races,” Fidanza explained post-race. “When it was one or two laps to go, we decided to go for the sprint because I was still there and because we knew today it was completely different from Saturday.”
Fidanza launched her sprint early, a bold move considering the slight uphill drag to the line, but it paid off. No one was able to come around her. “I pulled the sprint early – it was a very long sprint, but luckily I was able to hold on to the line,” she said. “I’m super proud to take my first win for the team.”
Behind her, Fortin and Guarischi rounded out the podium, while Dutch riders Uneken and Pluimers both secured top-ten finishes after making the key selections throughout the race.
2025 Festival Elsy Jacobs à Luxembourg result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Cor Vos
