Tre Valli Varesine: Elisa Longo Borghini and Tadej Pogacar don’t cut corners
Elisa Longo Borghini and Tadej Pogacar are the winners of the Tre Valli Varesine at the women’s and men’s levels. The Italian champion and the Slovenian outclassman did not discount at the finish line, reaching arms to the sky and both winning the end-of-season international classic for the second time: interestingly, the two had also won their first success in the same year, 2022.
Longo Borghini, an athlete from UAE Team ADQ, beat FDJ-Suez’s Vollering Demi in a two-man sprint. Completing the podium was Rüegg Noemi, of EF Education-Oatly, who came in 19″ from the winner and able to regulate the small group of chasers that saw Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ), Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez), Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco), Cecile Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon/Sram Zondacrypto), Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) finish from fourth to ninth place overall.
As for the men’s race, however, Pogacar finished alone at the finish line after a breakaway of over twenty kilometers. The peloton, with all the chasers, came in at 45″ set by Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek), second ahead of Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team). Also in the Top 5 were Sergio Higuita (AG2R La Mondiale Team) and Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek). No Italian finished the race among the top 10: a test of character, however, for Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana Team) and Kevin Colleoni (Intermarché-Wanty), who rode an attacking race but were unlucky in the last stage.
The Tre Valli Varesine has been run at the men’s level since 1919: the very first winner was Pietro Bestetti, the initial name on a roll of honor that also includes, among others, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Fiorenzo Magni, Gianni Motta, Eddy Merckx, Francesco Moser, Beppe Saronni, Gianni Bugno, Claudio Chiappucci, Davide Rebellin, Stefano Garzelli, Vincenzo Nibali, Primoz Roglic, as well as Tadej Pogacar, to name a few. At the women’s level, on the other hand, it has been raced since 2021: Elisa Longo Borghini is as of today the’only one to have won it twice.
