# 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, and represents Italy at international competitions.
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.

## 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.

## 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. She signed for Valcar–PBM for the 2017 season. Her first professional win came at the Omloop van Borsele in April 2018, followed by a win at the GP Bruno Beghelli later in the year.
In 2019, Balsamo finished first in a bunch sprint at the Dwars door de Westhoek, as well as stages at the Tour of California 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.
Balsamo began the 2021 season with a win at the GP Oetingen. 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. After a period of stage racing in Spain and The Netherlands, during which she finished second in the Grand Prix d'Isbergues, 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. Her first win as World Champion came at The Women's Tour, in which she won the final stage.

## 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 Féminin
       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
    4th Overall Setmana Ciclista Valenciana
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 3 & 4

### Classics results timeline

| Monuments | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Paris–Roubaix | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | NH | 57 | DSQ | 58 | 2 |
| Tour of Flanders | — | 74 | DNF | — | 15 | 28 | 38 | 47 | |
| 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 | NH | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Classic Brugge–De Panne | — | 11 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Gent–Wevelgem | — | 54 | 9 | — | DNF | 1 | 68 | 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 | — | Not held | 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