Human Powered Health is back on the Women’s WorldTour on March 15, racing the historic Trofeo Alfredo Binda one-day race in Italy.
After a rolling start, five laps of an 18-kilometre circuit take in multiple ascents of the Orino and Casale climbs, with puncheurs and nimble sprinters eyeing victory in Cittiglio at the end of the 152.7 km race.
Part of a 66 km breakaway in 2025, Nina Buijsman heads into the weekend alongside Thalita de Jong, who is looking to exorcise demons from last year, where an unfortunate incident with a fan curtailed her spring. They are joined by home riders Carlotta Cipressi and Katia Ragusa, with Marit Raaijmakers and Titia Ryo backing them up on the climbs.
First held for women from 1974 to 1996, and then again from 1999 to the present, the race is one of the most historic on the women’s calendar and the longest-running one-day classic. Team Director Giorgia Bronzini has also tasted success here, finishing second in 2007.
Where the race is won
The route is designed to gradually wear down the peloton before the decisive finishing circuits around Cittiglio. The first key climb is Bedero Valcuvia, which comes early in the race and begins the process of selection. At around 30 km in, it’s where teams raise the pace, or a breakaway is established, before the laps.
The two climbs on the circuit are then decisive. The Casale climb comes first in each lap. 800 meters at 7.8%, it leaves its sharpest gradients at the top and will become attritional over time. Orino is then a more gradual 2.9 km at 4.5% climb, and tops out with 8 km to race on the final circuit. An attack can force splits here or thin down a small group.
In practice, the run-in is fast. Depending on how the final ascent is tackled, it either sets up a solo victor or a reduced sprint among the strongest survivors in Cittiglio.
How to watch
USA
HBO Max via the B/R Sports Add-On from 9:45 am EDT / 8:45 am CDT / 7:45 am MDT / 6:45 am PDT
Europe
Eurosport/Discovery+/Max (Belgium) from 15:45 CET
UK
Discovery+/TNT Sports from 14:45 GMT
What our athletes think
Nina Buijsman
I’m excited for Binda, and hopefully, we get a dry edition. I like this race because it’s always hard with the multiple climbs and the long distance. So I’m looking forward to suffering and getting the best out of it with this team. Also, it’s the first race together with Thalita, so I’m really looking forward to that. The circuit is quite hard because there are two climbs in it. A steep one and a long one. So, almost all the time, you are busy trying to get a good position before a climb or during a climb. Being in a breakaway is a nice idea on the laps, so you can ride steadily all the time. I will aim to do that again, like last year, but perhaps later on in the race.
Carlotta Cipressi
I’m excited for Sunday. Coming from Extremadura, as a team, we can improve and show how strong we are. Binda is an important race for us in Italy. It is a demanding race, so we need to manage it well throughout. Back to the WorldTour, so everyone will be there, but the parcours is good for our team. We can play a few cards with a strong team, so I’m looking forward to taking our opportunities and aiming for a good result. I like having the whole team in Italy as it’s always an honor to show them the Italian life in our country, so hopefully it can end in a good moment for us.
Photos: GettySport
