Elisa Balsamo

2021 world champion Elisa Balsamo, born February 27, 1998 in Cuneo, Italy turned professional in 2017 with Italian team Valcar, spending five season with the squad before stepping up to the Women's WorldTour with Trek-Segafredo in 2022.

Balsamo was seen as a promising rider through the early years of her career, taking eight victories through the end of the 2020 season, including a stage of the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta and the 2020 U23 road race at the European Championships. Her big breakthrough came during the 2021 season, however, as she took a sprint victory at the Leuven World Championships, beating Marianne Vos in a reduced group at the end of 157km of racing.

Since then, she has gone from strength to strength at Trek, taking nine wins in the rainbow jersey in 2022. Through the spring she triumphed at multiple Classics, including the Trofeo Binda, Classic Brugge-De Panne, and Gent-Wevelgem. In June she became Italian road champion for the first time and then took her first two career wins at the Giro d'Italia Donne the next month. After a rapid rise, Balsamo is among the top stars in the women's peloton.

Key Results

Winner, 2021 Road World Championships road race

Winner, 2022 Trofeo Binda

Winner, 2022 Classic Brugge-De Panne

Winner, 2022 Gent-Wevelgem