02.10.2025 World-Tour, News, Race news

FOUR ITALIAN RACES TO CAP OFF THE 2025 ROAD SEASON

The 2025 season is winding down in lively fashion with a series of Italian one-day races – a fitting finale that criss-crosses one of cycling’s most favoured countries.

The block begins with the Giro dell’Emilia Internazionale Donne Elite, renowned for its demanding finish atop the San Luca climb. From there, the peloton heads northwest for the fifth edition of Tre Valli Varesine, decided upon an unforgiving circuit race around Varese. Two newcomers to the women’s calendar then follow: Trofeo Tessile Donne & Moda, set in the Piedmont region around 90 kilometres southwest of Varese, and finally Giro del Veneto, also in Northern Italy, but staged on the opposite side of the country from Vicenza.

For Emilia, the team will line up with Neve Bradbury, Chiara Consonni, Tiffany Cromwell, Nastya Kolesava and Alice Towers.

The race coincides with the Elite Women’s European Championships Road Race, where six of our riders will also be in action. As a result, Ricarda Bauernfeind, Soraya Paladin and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig will join from the Ardèche championships for Tre Valli Varesine, while Nastya and Chiara sit it out.

Midway through this Italian block on October 11, Australian gravel champion, Tiffany Cromwell will switch disciplines to represent her nations at the UCI Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands. Rosa Klöser, German National gravel champion, will also be competing at the event.

After some minor changes, a seven-rider roster will then remain consistent for Trofeo Tessile and Giro del Veneto: Wilma Aintila, Ricarda Bauernfeind, Neve Bradbury, Chiara Consonni, Nastya Kolesava, Soraya Paladin, and Alice Towers.

Neve Bradbury, Chiara Consonni, and Alice Towers will contest all four races, with Alice feeling good ahead of one final block and a well-earned off-season.

“I have a busy October to finish off my season. To be honest, when I first learned that I had these races on my programme, my first thought was that it will be tough to keep the motivation high that late into the season. But here I am at the end of September, still full of good spirits and excitement for the final races! So, I would say that has been a lot easier than I had anticipated.

I think I have done a good job of trying to keep the morale topped up by keeping the training simple and enjoying a good training/ life balance; I have found myself in pretty good shape with the result of this. I’m excited to finish the season off strong and I really want to create some good memories with thsese being my last races for Canyon/SRAM zondacrypto.

All of the races require similar attributes – they are all punchy, hilly with technical descents. We have a team that is perfect for this type of parcours and we will be getting active in each race.”

This will be the team’s first appearance at Giro dell’Emilia since 2020. Now in its 12th year, the race has only grown in stature, thanks in part to the second addition of a brutal San Luca ascent (2.1km at 9.4%), which has cemented its reputation as a very prestigious event to win. The 127km course has been further toughened this year with the inclusion of Monte Calvo (4.2km at 5.5%) at the 98km mark, where gradients exceed 10%. From the summit of this ’taster’ climb, riders plunge 16km to the foot of San Luca, where sections ramping up to an eye-watering 17% can be found. After the first passage over the finish line, a twisting descent awaits, before riders are confronted by San Luca once more. The second ascent delivers the final sting, crowning glory to an uphill powerhouse at the iconic basilica church.

Three days later, Tre Valli Varesine takes riders from the outskirts of Milan onto six laps around Varese. Each lap features two short climbs of around 2km, before and then after the line, making the finishing straight one of the few flat sections in the 136km course. Although not excessively steep, these repeated ascents will sap the legs, favouring a punchy, aggressive rider or a very capable sprinter. Add in the unpredictable northern Italian October weather, and the race can turn even more attritional on a dime.

The inaugural Veneto Women takes on a meandering 95km route from Vicenza to Verona, with the peloton then facing two decisive ascents of a steady yet draining 4km climb. From the summit, a 7km technical descent leads into a flat run to the heart of Verona, where the finish awaits.

As at time of writing, the course details for Trofeo Tessile Donne & Moda are not announced. The race returned to the men’s calendar in 2023 as the Coppa Baracchi, a revival of the historic 1991 event, but it has not yet actually been held. In 2025, it has rebranded and expanded to include a women’s edition.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Regarding live-streaming, both #GiroDellEmilia and #TreValliVaresine will be shown on Rai Italia, Discovery+ and Eurosport. The other two, #GirodelVeneto and #Giro, don’t look set to be live, so keep an eye on CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto channels for the latest team updates.

Overview