“I chose to take the wheel of Marianne Vos, who for me remains the best in such situations” - Elisa Balsamo on her first victory of the season at the Setmana Valenciana
Cycling
It did not take long for Elisa Balsamo to open her account in 2024, as she took the victory on the opening stage of the Setmana Valenciana in her first day of racing this season. The Italian rider won the bunch sprint into Gandia, as she followed the wheel of Marianne Vos before coming around her to take the win.
In her interview after the race, Balsamo explained how following the Dutch rider had put her in a better position to launch her sprint, as she stated that “there was no real lead-out anymore. I chose to take the wheel of Marianne Vos , who for me remains the best in such situations. I make no secret of the fact that I feared being squeezed, but I knew I had to follow her. And my instincts rewarded me”.
This victory marked Balsamo’s fourth stage win at the race, with this being the third consecutive year that she has won the opening stage. In her interview, she went on to say that “It feels very good to start the season like this. Winning the first race of the year gives an important boost to self-confidence and is something I have done for three years in a row now”.
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- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026
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BARZIIIII 🥇 One more win for @Elisa_balsamo at #SetmanaCiclista 🥳👏
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