Elisa Longo Borghini did not need long to reset after Strade Bianche. A day later, on the roads around Cinquale, she turned Trofeo Oro in Euro into a familiar pattern, a final climb, one decisive acceleration, and a solo run to the line that never looked like coming back.
The Italian champion attacked with 14 kilometres to go on the last ascent of Fortezza and rode clear to take her second career win in the race, repeating the same basic formula she used in 2024. Behind her, UAE Team ADQ completed a statement of depth as well as strength, with Karlijn Swinkels sprinting to second and Dominika Włodarczyk taking third to complete a clean sweep of the podium. Silvia Persico made it four UAE riders in the top four by holding off Puck Pieterse for fourth.
The opening part of the day was built to encourage patience. Five short, flat circuits kept the bunch together and rewarded positioning rather than pure power, saving the race’s key feature, the 3.5km Fortezza climb, for the final two laps of the longer finishing circuit.
That design mattered because it prevented the race from fragmenting too early. Teams could keep numbers intact, and riders who wanted a selective finale had to wait for the moment when the gradient and repetition would finally force the issue.
The decisive break forms, and UAE arrive with numbers that change everything
With two circuits to go, the move that shaped the rest of the race went clear. Six riders established a gap across the final 40 kilometres: Pieterse and Noemi Rüegg were the two outsiders in a group otherwise dominated by four UAE riders, Longo Borghini, Swinkels, Włodarczyk and Persico.
It was an immediately uncomfortable situation for everybody else. Pieterse and Rüegg had representation in the break, but they were surrounded by a team built to play multiple options. UAE could attack, counter, sit on, or simply set tempo, and they could do it without exposing their leader until the moment suited her.
On the first passage of Fortezza with around 35 kilometres remaining, the break began to thin. Rüegg started to lose contact, leaving Pieterse alone against the four UAE riders for the decisive phase.
That did not mean the Dutch rider was passive. She matched moves, protected her position, and refused to let herself be bullied off the front. But the arithmetic was brutal. Every acceleration she followed cost her more than it cost the riders who could rotate through efforts with teammates around them.
The peloton threatens to return, then Longo Borghini ends the suspense
As the leaders crossed through Cinquale for the final time, the advantage was no longer comfortable. Attacks in the peloton and a growing chase group began to cut into the gap. The sense that the front group might be caught added urgency, and it also created the perfect moment for the strongest rider to stop playing games.
Longo Borghini chose the simplest solution. On the final ascent of Fortezza, she gave the pedals an extra push and opened daylight almost immediately. It was not a long, grinding squeeze, it was a clean acceleration that forced the others to respond at their limit.
Nobody could.
A solo to the line, then the rest of UAE complete the sweep
Once Longo Borghini crested the climb clear, the race was effectively decided. Behind her, Pieterse tried to make something happen, with Włodarczyk able to follow, but the chase dynamics never stabilised long enough to threaten the leader.
On the run-in back to Cinquale, Longo Borghini rode like a rider who knew exactly how much she had. She settled into time trial mode and kept the gap safe all the way to the finish.
The podium fight behind became an extension of UAE’s control rather than a battle to break it. Swinkels took second, Włodarczyk secured third, and Persico won the sprint for fourth ahead of Pieterse, completing an emphatic team performance that left the rest of the field fighting for scraps.
Photo Credit: Getty2026 Trofeo Oro in Euro result
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