Just a few days on from her third Trofeo Alfredo Binda victory, Elisa Balsamo is hoping to make it two big wins in a week as she leads Lidl-Trek at the revamped Milan-San Remo Women, a race she predicts to be hard but not outside of her capabilities.
Being the first women’s edition of the race in 20 years – six editions of the Primavera Rosa were run in the early 2000s – there are a lot of questions about what kind of riders might survive to contest the finish, but Balsamo hopes she can be one of them.
"Of course winning San Remo is a dream, I think for everyone, but especially as an Italian rider. This is the first year again and I know that every year there will be this race, but of course it’s a big dream for me [to win this edition]," she told the press on Tuesday afternoon.
Having won Binda in fairly dominant fashion, it’s clear that Balsamo’s form is there, even on routes with more climbing, so Saturday will be more about trying to get the tactics and teamwork right in a fairly hard-to-anticipate race.
"I’m feeling good, but I also think that you never know what can happen in these kind of races," she said. "It’s more or less like Binda – you don’t know if there will be a bunch sprint, a small bunch, a breakaway, or a solo, and I think it’s going to be the same in Sam Remo, even if the profile of the race is really different. So I just need to fight and I need to believe in that, and then we will see."
If she makes it to the Via Roma, Balsamo would be a top favourite to win from any size group, but she’s hoping for something more selective.
"My perfect scenario is a small bunch sprint," she said. "But I know that before, I need to survive on the climbs, and also the downhill is quite technical, but I really hope for a small bunch sprint."
To get to that point and contest the victory, however, Balsamo will have to contend with the Tre Capi – three smaller climbs in the final 60km – and then the famed Cipressa and Poggio, two climbs that aren’t overly steep but therefore will be raced at speed.
"I think the climbs are hard but not crazy hard, so I think they are good climbs for a Classics rider or a sprinter that is able to survive on the climbs," she said, essentially describing her own rider profile.
"I think maybe the Capo Berta is a little bit underestimated, it’s still 2km and it’s quite steep, but honestly I think it’s too far from the finish. But It can make a little difference in the peloton."
As for the final climbs, Balsamo is preparing for attacks, where she and her Lidl-Trek team will have to work hard to stay in contention and in position against a likely onslaught from stronger climbers like Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez).
"I think there will be also attacks on the Cipressa. There are a lot of strong teams and strong climbers or Classics riders, so I think the Cipressa will be really hard from the bottom to the top, and they will try to attack," she said.
"But I also think that it’s still long between the Cipressa and the Poggio, and maybe we can come back – maybe not all together but a small group – and then on the Poggio, for sure they will attack. I think we really need to ride as a team, because it’s possible to come back in between the Cipressa and the Poggio, it’s still long."
Balsamo made a nominal mention of her team’s other options – Niamh Fisher-Black will start as their strongest climber – but the Italian will start as the clear leader, with a strong team assembled around the ambition of delivering her to the top of the Poggio in the front group.
The only concern will be to not play dangerous games with the breakaway, as the peloton did at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but Lidl-Trek should be counted amongst the teams who will take responsibility for keeping things under control.
"I think that everyone learned from Nieuwsblad, but also everyone really wants to win San Remo, so there can be a breakaway, but all the peloton will work together to [not let the break] get ten minutes, and then everyone will fight on the climb," Balsamo said.
"So I’m quite sure that at least five or six teams can work together to keep the breakaway close because it’s such an important race and everyone wants to fight for the win."
A wealth of experience in the team car
As well as Balsamo’s Classics strength and rapid sprint, Lidl-Trek have something of a trick up their sleeves: the experience of DS Ina Teutenberg, who raced the Primavera Rosa during her career as a pro.
The German isn’t the only DS who will go into Saturday with actual racing experience – Human Powered Health’s Giorgia Bronzini also raced the old women’s Milan-San Remo on three occasions – but her expertise will certainly be an advantage as Balsamo looks to follow Trixi Worrack as the next winner of this Italian Monument.
"We are lucky to have Ina with us," Balsamo said of her long-term director. "She was riding with us today and yesterday. I think she can give us important feedback in the climbs. She was a really, really strong rider and she said that she really believed that we can survive on the climbs.
"She has a lot of experience, not only in this race, so it’s really nice to have a DS like her. She’s raced almost every race we are doing now, so I think it’s nice because she can give a lot of suggestions and advice."
A lot of that advice has revolved around the descents, with Lidl-Trek identifying the downhills as a place to make a difference, and the riders working with a technical coach, specifically on descending, in the run-up to the race.
"I think [the descents] are really important, because we can see that the men’s race was also won in the downhill of the Poggio in some years, so it’s not only about being fast in the climb, but also being good in the downhill," Balsamo said.
As the Italian pointed out, everyone will want to win on Saturday, but it would be extra special for Balsamo. Not just as it’s her home Classic, but because the 27-year-old has had two seasons somewhat marred by crashes and bad luck, and this is her chance to really have a clean run at the spring, and hopefully, a huge win.
"Of course coming back after two really bad crashes was not easy, but I’m really happy that I’m here and that I feel good," she said. "I was a little bit unlucky in the last two years, but I was always fighting, so I’m just happy to be back to feeling good and to be here with my team."
