Elisa Balsamo (cyclist)

Elisa Balsamo (born 27 February 1998) is an Italian road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's World Team Lidl–Trek,^[3] and represents Italy at international competitions.

Elisa Balsamo

Balsamo in 2024
Personal information
Born	(1998-02-27) 27 February 1998 (age 27) Cuneo, Italy
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	53 kg (117 lb)
Team information
Current team	Lidl–Trek
Disciplines	Road Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Professional teams
2017–2021	Valcar–PBM[1][2]
2022–	Trek–Segafredo
Major wins
One-day races and Classics World Road Race Championships (2021) National Road Race Championships (2022) Trofeo Alfredo Binda (2022, 2024, 2025) Classic Brugge–De Panne (2022, 2024) Gent–Wevelgem (2022)
Medal record Representing  Italy Women's track cycling World Championships 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Team pursuit 2021 Roubaix Team pursuit 2018 Apeldoorn Team pursuit 2020 Berlin Madison 2021 Roubaix Omnium European Games 2019 Minsk Team pursuit 2019 Minsk Omnium European Championships 2016 Yvelines Team pursuit 2017 Berlin Team pursuit 2020 Plovdiv Omnium 2020 Plovdiv Madison 2024 Apeldoorn Team pursuit 2018 Glasgow Team pursuit 2020 Plovdiv Team pursuit 2023 Grenchen Team pursuit 2017 Berlin Omnium 2019 Apeldoorn Team pursuit 2023 Grenchen Madison 2024 Apeldoorn Madison Junior World Championships 2015 Astana Scratch 2016 Aigle Team pursuit 2016 Aigle Omnium U23 & Junior European Championships 2015 Athens Junior Team pursuit 2016 Montichiari Junior Team pursuit 2016 Montichiari Junior Omnium 2017 Sangalhos U23 Team pursuit 2017 Sangalhos U23 Omnium 2018 Aigle U23 Team pursuit 2019 Ghent U23 Team pursuit 2019 Ghent U23 Madison 2017 Sangalhos U23 Madison 2018 Aigle U23 Madison Women's road bicycle racing World Championships 2016 Doha Junior Road race 2021 Flanders Road race European Championships 2020 Plouay U23 Road race 2016 Plumelec Junior Road race 2022 Munich Road race 2024 Limburg Road race

After competing at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in the women's junior road race she became junior world champion at the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in the junior's road race. She won the gold medal at the 2016 UEC European Track Championships in the team pursuit.^[4]

Early life

Balsamo was born in Cuneo in 1998. Her father was an amateur cyclist. Before taking up cycling, she had competed in a number of skiing disciplines, as well as biathlon and swimming.^[5]

Career

Balsamo's first major win came at the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in Doha, where she won the Junior Road Race in a bunch sprint ahead of Skylar Schneider.^[6] She signed for Valcar–PBM for the 2017 season.^[7] Her first professional win came at the Omloop van Borsele in April 2018,^[8] followed by a win at the GP Bruno Beghelli later in the year.^[9]

In 2019, Balsamo finished first in a bunch sprint at the Dwars door de Westhoek,^[10] as well as stages at the Tour of California^[11] and the Giro delle Marche in Rosa. In 2020, Balsamo won the final stage of the Madrid Challenge, overtaking Lorena Wiebes in the final 50 metres.^[12]

Balsamo began the 2021 season with a win at the GP Oetingen.^[13] She competed for Italy at the 2020 Summer Olympics; whilst she broke the Italian record as part of the team pursuit, she finished in 8th position in the madison and outside the Top 10 in the omnium.^[14] After a period of stage racing in Spain and The Netherlands, during which she finished second in the Grand Prix d'Isbergues,^[5] she was selected as part of the Italian team for the UCI Road World Championships. After a number of attempts by the Dutch team to break away from the group, Balsamo won the bunch sprint from the remaining group of around 25 riders, ahead of Marianne Vos.^[15] Her first win as World Champion came at The Women's Tour, in which she won the final stage.^[16]

Major results

Road

2015

3rd Road race, National Junior Championships

5th Trofeo Avis Suvereto

6th Road race, UCI World Junior Championships

6th Giro della Provincia di Pordenone

2016

1st Road race, UCI World Junior Championships

1st Road race, National Junior Championships

2nd Road race, UEC European Junior Championships

2nd Gent–Wevelgem Juniors

3rd Trofeo Mendelspeck

4th Gran Premio Hotel Fiera Bolzano

7th Trofeo Oro

8th Memorial Diego e Stefano Trovó

2017

1st Giro Dei Due Comuni

1st Grand Prix Crevoisier

1st Sprints classification, Giro della Toscana

2nd Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli

2nd Sparkassen Giro

2nd Memorial F. Basso

7th SwissEver GP Cham-Hagendorn

2018

1st Omloop van Borsele

1st Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli

2nd Grand Prix de Dottignies

5th Time trial, UEC European Under-23 Championships

2019

1st Trofee Maarten Wynants

1st Dwars door de Westhoek

2nd Omloop van Borsele

2020

1st Road race, UEC European Under-23 Championships

1st Stage 3 Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta

2021

1st Road race, UCI World Championships

1st Stage 6 The Women's Tour

3rd Scheldeprijs

3rd Brabantse Pijl

4th Gent–Wevelgem

7th Trofeo Alfredo Binda

7th Dwars door de Westhoek

10th Road race, UEC European Championships

2022

1st Road race, National Championships

1st Trofeo Alfredo Binda

1st Classic Brugge–De Panne

1st Gent–Wevelgem

Giro Donne

1st Stages 1 & 4

Challenge by La Vuelta

1st Stages 1 (TTT) & 5

1st Stage 1 Setmana Ciclista Valenciana

1st Stage 3 Tour de Suisse

2nd Road race, UEC European Championships

2nd Ronde van Drenthe

4th Tre Valli Varesine

8th Amstel Gold Race

2023

Setmana Ciclista Valenciana

1st Stages 1 & 2

2nd Trofeo Alfredo Binda

2nd Classic Brugge–De Panne

4th Ronde van Drenthe

4th Nokere Koerse

2024

1st Trofeo Alfredo Binda

1st Classic Brugge–De Panne

Volta a Catalunya

1st Stages 1 & 3

Tour de Romandie

1st Points classification

1st Stage 1

2nd Road race, UEC European Championships

2nd Paris–Roubaix

2nd Ronde van Drenthe

2nd Gent–Wevelgem

4th Classic Lorient Agglomération

7th Scheldeprijs

10th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

2025

1st Trofeo Alfredo Binda

1st Scheldeprijs

2nd Gent–Wevelgem

3rd Classic Brugge–De Panne

4th Overall Setmana Ciclista Valenciana

1st Points classification

1st Stages 3 & 4

7th Milan–San Remo

9th Paris–Roubaix

Classics results timeline

Monuments	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Milan–San Remo	Not held								7
Tour of Flanders	—	74	DNF	—	15	28	38	47
Paris–Roubaix	Race did not exist			NH	57	DSQ	58	2	9
Liège–Bastogne–Liège	—	DNF	83	38	—	—	—	—
Classic	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad	—	—	—	—	19	4	61	10	31
Strade Bianche	76	—	—	33	55	45	31	—	—
Ronde van Drenthe	—	25	DNF	NH	—	2	4	2	NH
Trofeo Alfredo Binda	35	11	42		7	1	2	1	1
Classic Brugge–De Panne	—	11	5	15	5	1	2	1	3
Gent–Wevelgem	—	54	9	—	DNF	1	68	2	2
Amstel Gold Race	—	38	10	NH	49	8	76	—
La Flèche Wallonne	—	38	54	46	—	—	—	—
GP de Plouay	—	—	15	—	—	15	15	4
Open de Suède Vårgårda	—	19	—	Not held		—	Not held

Track

2015

1st Scratch, UCI World Junior Championships

1st Team pursuit, UEC European Junior Championships

1st Team pursuit, National Junior Championships

2016

1st Team pursuit, UEC European Championships

UCI World Junior Championships

1st Omnium

1st Team pursuit

UEC European Junior Championships

1st Omnium

1st Team pursuit

1st Scratch, National Junior Championships

1st Individual pursuit, 3 Jours d'Aigle

2nd Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, Glasgow

2017

UEC European Championships

1st Team pursuit

3rd Omnium

UEC European Under-23 Championships

1st Omnium

1st Team pursuit

3rd Madison

UCI World Cup, Pruszków

1st Team pursuit

3rd Individual pursuit

3rd Madison (with Maria Giulia Confalonieri)

6 Giorni di Torino internazionale

1st Omnium

1st Points

Belgian International Meeting

2nd Omnium

3rd Madison (with Rachele Barbieri)

2nd Omnium, Prilba Moravy

2018

UEC European Under-23 Championships

1st Team pursuit

3rd Madison

1st Madison, National Championships

2nd Team pursuit, UEC European Championships

3rd Team pursuit, UCI World Championships

2022

1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships