Van Dam sprints to third place in Giro dell’Appennino
Sarah Van Dam finished third in the Giro dell’Appennino. In the Italian one-day race, the 24-year-old Canadian contested the sprint for victory in an elite group. Viktória Chladoňová was also part of the lead group, but she made a mistake in a corner in the final kilometer. Silvia Persico ultimately proved to be the fastest.
The riders faced a 111-kilometer route from Novi Ligure to Genoa, featuring two climbs in the finale. Van Dam, Femke de Vries, and Rosita Reijnhout were back in action just one day after Milan–Sanremo. Chladoňová, Marion Bunel, and Maud Oudeman completed Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s lineup.
After a cautious opening phase, the race came to life in the hilly finale. On the first climb of the day, the Passo dei Giovi, a breakaway of three riders formed. The peloton gave them little space. On the Livellato climb, the peloton was significantly reduced under the impetus of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The team remained well represented at the front throughout. After the breakaway was caught, Célia Gery and Persico accelerated. Not long after, they were joined by a chasing group that included Van Dam, Chladoňová, Niamh Fisher-Black, and Lucinda Brand. This group of six rode together toward the finish in Genoa.
The sprint was led out by Chladoňová, but things went wrong for the 19-year-old talent in the final kilometer. With the finish in sight, the Slovak rider took a wrong turn at a roundabout. Her five fellow escapees chose the correct route and sprinted for the win. Van Dam launched a strong sprint but ultimately had to settle behind Brand and winner Persico.
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“Unfortunately, I just missed out on my first victory, but I learned a lot from this race,” Van Dam reacted afterwards. “We can look back on a strong team performance. We were in the right place at the right moments and helped shape the race. In the descent after the final climb, we managed to close the gap with the chasing group. Viktória did an excellent job there. I gave it everything today and I’m proud of our collective performance.”
“A third place is certainly a fine result,” said sports director Jan Boven. “Our plan was to stay patient in the opening phase and then strike as a team on the climbs. The riders executed that perfectly. When the peloton split, we still had four riders at the front. In the end, Sarah and Viktória impressively bridged across and were able to contend for the win. Sarah delivered a strong sprint, but Persico was simply the fastest today. We can be very satisfied with this team performance.”
