Lotte Kopecky outsprints Annemiek van Vleuten to win Strade Bianche

Kopecky, 26, powered away through the final turns in Siena to claim what she described as the biggest win of her career

Earlier, SD Worx played their hand to perfection, enabling Lotte Kopecky to win the women’s race. The powerhouse Dutch team managed to get three riders into the leading pack in the final kilometres, isolating two-time winner Annemiek van Vleuten, and setting up the Belgian national champion to get the racing line through the windy roads of Siena as they came off the top of the brutal final climb.

Kopecky, 26, powered away through the final turns to claim what she described as the biggest win of her career. “It was a really good plan from the team,” Kopecky told Eurosport post-race. “Racing like this is super nice to do, I have teammates behind me who have my back.

“I was never confident of beating Van Vleuten. I knew she was the person to follow. I let her go a bit on the last climb and then just kept going. I turned to the right to pass her, she passed again and then it was sprint through the last corner.”

As Van Vleuten’s Movistar teammates fell away on the Tuscan hills, SD Worx managed to stay together. Kopecky’s teammates Demi Vollering and Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, who finished 19 seconds back in third, launched series of energy sapping attacks in the final stages that ultimately proved key in tiring out Van Vleuten.

VIDEO: 2022 Women's Strade Bianche Highlights

2022 Women's Strade Bianche Top 10

1 Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx 03:59:14
2 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Movistar
3 Ashleigh Moolman Pasio (RSA) SD Worx 00:00:10
4 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram 00:00:19
5 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ Nouvelle-Acquitaine Futuroscope 00:00:24
6 Elise Chabbey (Swi) Canyon-Sram 00:00:28
7 Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 00:00:29
8 Grace Brown (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Acquitaine Futuroscope 00:00:39
9 Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx 00:00:50
10 Liane Lippert (Ger) Team DSM 00:01:37