Once again, the women's Milan-Sanremo was decided on the finishing straight - but compared to last year, the leading group was significantly smaller: five riders broke away on the Poggio and could no longer be caught by their pursuers: In addition to Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ), who had initiated the leading group with their attacks, Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx - Protime), Noemi Rüegg (EF Eduaction-Oatly) and Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) were also at the front. Włodarczyk rode the final kilometres in the wind for her team-mate Garparrini, which didn't pay off in the end: Kopecky attacked out of the Polish rider's slipstream, while Gasparrini had too far to go at the end of the group to pose a threat to Kopecky. In the end, the Belgian clearly won ahead of Rüegg and Gaparrini.
Kopecky: from noble helper to winner
Last year, Lotte Kopecky helped her team-mate Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx - Protime) to victory. As the lead-out rider, she did the perfect groundwork for Wiebes' victory in the bunch sprint. This year, however, the course of the race played more into Kopecky's hands: Wiebes was no longer able to follow the spirited attacks of Pieterse and Włodarczyk on the Poggio, meaning that Kopecky was able to step out of the helper role a few kilometres before the finish and ride to victory herself. She managed the role change with flying colours: it was the first success at Milan-Sanremo for the Belgian rider.
Milan-Sanremo 2026 for women: Results
Milano-Sanremo Donne: Genova - Sanremo
Milano-Sanremo Donne 2026: Milano-Sanremo Donne, Genova - Sanremo
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team SD Worx - Protime | 03:47:17 |
| 2 | EF Education-Oatly | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | UAE Team ADQ | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Fenix-Premier Tech | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | UAE Team ADQ | +000:00:04 |
| 6 | Team SD Worx - Protime | +000:00:09 |
How Milan-Sanremo 2026 went for the women
On the 156-kilometre route from Genoa to Sanremo, it took a long time for the day's leading group to form. After 37 kilometres, three riders managed to open up a gap to the peloton: Eleonora La Bella (Aromitalia Vaiano), Constance Valentin (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) and Sofia Arici (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) broke away. A short time later, six more riders joined the leading trio. Among them were Katia Ragusa (Human Powered Health) and Bodine Vollering (VolkerWessels Cycling Team).
At Capo Berta, around 40 kilometres before the finish, the leading group began to break away. Even before the Cipressa, the first difficult climb and also the start of the finale, the leading group had been broken up.
Niewiadoma and Nooijen attack on the Cipressa
Kasia Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto) was the first to try her luck on the Cipressa. The former Tour de France winner rode a long attack, but did not manage to break away from the peloton. However, she caused gaps in the peloton, with Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes, among others, temporarily falling behind.
The Niewiadoma attack created a leading group of around ten riders, but none of them had the necessary conviction to set the pace. The moment to distance the chasers was therefore missed. Shortly before the crest of the climb, it was Lieke Nooijen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) who took heart and went solo.
Bad crash on a downhill run
19 kilometres before the finish, on the descent of the Cipressa, there was a bad crash. The chasing pack behind Nooijen was led by Niewiadoma, who briefly lost control of her racing bike on a right-hand bend and crashed. Several riders behind her also crashed - including Kimberly Le Kourt Pienaar (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) and a rider from the Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi team, who even went over the crash barrier and crashed on a path below. However, all the riders remained conscious.
Preliminary decision on the Poggio
The breakaway rider Nooijen was swallowed up at the foot of the Poggio, while another rider attacked. Nikola Noskova (Cofidis Women Team) gained a small lead in the meantime, but was ultimately unable to break away decisively. A quintet then managed to do so: after attacks by Pieterse and Włodarczyk, the leading group formed, which was to decide the race among themselves on the finishing straight. In the end, Kopecky won ahead of Rüegg and Gasparrini. Pieterse came fourth and Włodarczyk fifth.
