Tre Valli Varesine Women, Eleonora Gasparrini wins in Varese with a display of determination

Tre Valli Varesine Women, Eleonora Gasparrini wins in Varese with a display of determination Tre Valli Varesine Women, Eleonora Gasparrini wins in Varese with a display of determination Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini won the Tre Valli Varesine Women today, producing one of the most memorable victories of her season. The Italian rider from UAE Team L'IMAD triumphed in Varese after a hard-fought race decided only in the final metres, beating Canada's Sarah Van Dam and Switzerland's Noemi Rüegg. For Gasparrini, it is her first victory of 2026 and the eighth professional win of her career. It came after a race in which the Italian once again showed her ability to combine speed, endurance and, above all, determination. The 2026 Tre Valli Varesine Women's Race covered 133.9 kilometres from Busto Arsizio to Varese. After an opening road section of around 40 kilometres, the peloton entered the Varese circuit, which was completed six times, featuring the Montello climb and the final run towards the centre of Varese. The race was marked by several attacks. In the finale, Karlijn Swinkels, Gasparrini's teammate, and Nikola Nosková managed to break clear and build a lead of around 35 seconds. It looked as though the pair might fight for the victory, but the chasing group kept pushing and finally closed the gap on the final climb, just a few hundred metres from the finish. At that point, UAE Team L'IMAD played its cards perfectly. The work of Silvia Persico helped bring Gasparrini into the ideal position for the final sprint. Eleonora then did the rest: on the finishing straight she found the strength to accelerate decisively and claim a victory that was both important and fully deserved. For Radio Ciclismo, this victory has an even more special meaning. We first got to know Eleonora when she was taking her earliest steps in cycling, still very young, and we had the privilege of following her development, also alongside her father Sergio. Seeing her now cross the finish line first in an international classic such as the Tre Valli Varesine is a source of enormous pride and genuine emotion for us. Today's victory perfectly reflects Eleonora's growth. She is not only a rider capable of delivering a fast finish, but a complete athlete who can suffer on the climbs, read the race and arrive at the decisive moment with the necessary clarity. Today, she won through determination. She resisted, waited for the right moment and, when the race opened up in the final metres, found the strength to play for the victory. That is precisely the spirit we have come to recognise in Eleonora over the years. Sarah Van Dam finished second and Noemi Rüegg took third. UAE Team L'IMAD also produced an excellent team performance, with Giada Silo finishing eighth, while Karlijn Swinkels and Silvia Persico played important roles in building the winning performance. Eleonora Gasparrini returns to winning ways on home roads, in a Tre Valli Varesine that also represents a symbolic milestone in a journey that began many years ago. And for those of us at Radio Ciclismo who have watched her grow from her earliest days on the bike, today's celebration is even more special.