Dutch former top sprinter helps Lidl-Trek star Balsamo reap rewards: "Not easy at first, but it’s working now"

Elisa Balsamo was notably absent from the Tour of Flanders last Sunday, which raised a few eyebrows. But just three days later, the Italian rider from Lidl-Trek showed exactly why: she won the Scheldeprijs in Schoten, marking her first victory in a Belgian classic this year. IDLProCycling.com spoke with the ever-friendly rider afterward.

While Balsamo skipped the Tour of Flanders, she had already spent several weeks racing in Belgium. That work had started to pay off—but not fully. She had podium finishes in Classic Brugge–De Panne, Gent–Wevelgem, and Dwars door Vlaanderen, but hadn’t won. That changed at the Scheldeprijs. “And I’m really happy about that,” a very relieved Balsamo said after the race.

“I finally managed to finish off the team’s work. They always do an amazing job, and I’m glad I could repay that trust with a win,” said the Lidl-Trek rider. The German-American team was in a great position during the finale, with Anna Henderson up in the breakaway. “We were happy with that because Anna is also strong and fast.”

“Meanwhile, it was chaos behind. We weren’t sure we’d catch them, but we were okay with that too. It was up to Picnic–PostNL to close the gap,” Balsamo explained. “Lizzie and Clara (Deignan and Copponi, ed.) did an amazing job, and that allowed me to get to the sprint. I gave it everything there, and the fact that I managed to win makes me really satisfied.”

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Balsamo grateful for support at Lidl trek

At the winner’s press conference, Balsamo repeated her earlier sentiments. “My teammates give everything for me in every race, so it weighed on me that I hadn’t managed to win yet. A podium isn’t bad, but winning is different. As a team, this is an important day, because a win is always important.”

It’s not just her teammates who are key to her success—the team’s leadership also plays a major role. Former Dutch top sprinter Jeroen Blijlevens—winner of four Tour stages, five in the Vuelta, two in the Giro, and also the Scheldeprijs—has been instrumental in supporting her within the Lidl-Trek women’s squad. “Jeroen is very important. I have to say, we’ve worked really hard with him on the lead-out, and it’s gone really well in recent races. In De Panne, I wasn’t strong enough, but here, I was.”

“It wasn’t easy in the beginning, because you have to find the right balance,” Balsamo said, reflecting on how their current sprint preparation came together. “But now it’s working well. We review all the sprints with Jeroen, and that’s how we find ways to improve. On top of that, it helps that Jeroen is from this region and knows the roads of this race very well.”

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Balsamo wants to finish one spot higher than last year in Paris-Roubaix

On Saturday, Balsamo will line up for Paris–Roubaix—unlike the Tour of Flanders, which she skipped—where she finished second last year. “There’s always motivation for that race, and this is a step in the right direction.” Her main rivals will be Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes. “I understand why they didn’t race earlier. I also chose, in consultation with the team, not to ride the Tour of Flanders and to focus on this instead. These decisions aren’t easy, but you can’t race too much either.”

“How do I beat Kopecky? As I always say: the team is our strength. We have a very strong squad, and we showed that last year in Paris–Roubaix,” said Balsamo, who just came up short against Kopecky in 2023. “I learned from that sprint. Maybe I went too early, and that’s tough after such a hard race. But every sprint is different, and in the moment you have to decide what you’re capable of. I also race on the track, so a sprint in the velodrome should suit me well,” she concluded with confidence.

Read also

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