Elisa Balsamo

Road and track rider Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) rocketed to the very top of women’s cycling in 2021 when she took an unexpected win in the World Championship Road Race in Belgium. The Italian was already on her way to Trek-Segafredo for 2022 but got to take the rainbow jersey with her.

A graduate of the highly successful Valcar Travel & Service team, as well as the Italian track programme, Balsamo was a junior world champion and a prolific sprinter in her first years in the senior ranks. On the track, the 25-year-old is a multiple-time European and world champion, forming part of the powerful Italian team pursuit team.

Since joining Trek, Balsamo has rounded out her abilities from not just sprinting but the tougher one-day races too, winning races like Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Gent-Wevelgem for the American team. Misfortune dogged much of her 2023 season but she returned to winning ways at the Simac Ladies Tour and will be hoping to carry this confidence into 2024.