Balsamo ends five years at Valcar with victory in the rainbow jersey

By
published

World Champion moving to Trek-Segafredo for 2022

Elisa Balsamo with her Valcar teammates at the start of stage 6
Elisa Balsamo with her Valcar teammates at the start of stage 6 (Image credit: SWPix)

Elisa Balsamo (Valcar-Travel & Service) could not have wished for a better end to her 2021 season. After a somewhat disappointing Olympic campaign with the Italian track team where she missed out on medals in the Team Pursuit, Madison, and Omnium, the 23-year-old refocused on the World Championships in Flanders where she was supported by a strong Italian team and sprinted to victory in Leuven.

Wearing her brand-new rainbow jersey, Balsamo returned to her trade team to race the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes as well as The Women's Tour where she won stage 6 in a sprint, beating Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) who had won the previous two stages. It was the perfect parting gift as Balsamo had been announced at Trek-Segafredo in late August, having signed a three-year contract with the Women's WorldTour team after five seasons at Valcar-Travel & Service.

Lukas Knöfler

Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.