Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini won the women’s Tre Valli Varesine in Varese on Tuesday 6 October, in the sprint of a group of thirteen: Sarah van Dam second, Noemi Rüegg third. 133.9 km from Busto Arsizio in 3h36’37”.
The race
After about 40 km on the road from Busto Arsizio, the race did six laps of a 16 km circuit in Varese, with the Montello and the Ronchi on every lap.
An early break, with Zanetti, Palm and Hashimi, was caught 31 km from the finish. From the small group that moved afterwards, Swinkels and Nosková went clear, with a maximum lead of just over half a minute: they were caught in the finale, less than a kilometre from the line.
Silvia Persico led out the sprint, and Gasparrini won it. UAE, her team, raced in mourning for masseur David Facciano, who died the previous Sunday: Gasparrini dedicated the win to him. “I’m really happy. I think we also played it very well as a team,” she said.
Elisa Longo Borghini, who won it in 2025, and Demi Vollering were missing.
It is Gasparrini’s first win of the season. At the Tre Valli she had already been seventh in 2021 and fourth in 2024 and 2025: last year Rüegg beat her in the photo finish for third place. In the past two years she had won the Gran Premio di Stoccarda, in 2024 and 2025, and the Grand Prix du Morbihan in 2025.
How they finished
The top ten
| # | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini | Italy | 3h36’37” |
| 2 | Sarah van Dam | Canada | s.t. |
| 3 | Noemi Rüegg | Switzerland | s.t. |
| 4 | Kate Courtney | United States | s.t. |
| 5 | Malou Eisen | Netherlands | s.t. |
| 6 | Fleur Moors | Belgium | s.t. |
| 7 | Julie Bego | France | s.t. |
| 8 | Giada Silo | Italy | s.t. |
| 9 | Silke Smulders | Netherlands | s.t. |
| 10 | Ema Comte | France | s.t. |
The Italians
Giada Silo is eighth, in the winner’s time, Silvia Persico fourteenth, 3 seconds back. 44 riders finished out of 104 starters.
The race in numbers
- Average speed
- 37.1 km/h 133.9 km in 3h36’37”, the winner’s time.
- Weather at the finish
- 20 °C No rain; in Varese, from 14 to 17 local time.
- Wind at the finish
- 5–7 km/h From the south-east, gusts up to 17 km/h; same hours.
- Selection index
- 68 out of 100 Of 44 finishers: 16 within 30 seconds of the winner, 22 within 2 minutes, all within 10 minutes (her included). It runs from 0, a bunch sprint, to 98, a solo finish.
Sources
- Results and times, including past editions and Gasparrini’s other wins: UCI, official results.
- The race and Gasparrini’s words: Federciclismo, “Tre Valli Varesine Women’s Race, Eleonora Gasparrini’s first”.
- The dedication: Tuttobiciweb, “Gasparrini, first win of the season and the dedication”.
- The 2025 photo finish: Tuttobiciweb, Nicolò Vallone, “Tre Valli Women. Royal duel in Varese, Longo Borghini beats Vollering! Ruegg third over Gasparrini”.
- The break caught: Cyclingnews (on Yahoo), “Gasparrini wins after last-gasp breakaway catch”.
- The finale: OA Sport, “Tre Valli Varesine women 2026, Gasparrini times her winning sprint”.
- The route: ProCyclingUK, “Tre Valli Varesine Women 2026 route guide”.
- The absentees: ProCyclingUK, preview of the 2026 women’s Tre Valli Varesine (article).
- Weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
- Photo: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Written with the help of Mnemosyne.