Kopecky Wins Milan-San Remo Women With Perfectly Timed Sprint After Pieterse Lights Up the Poggio
Lotte Kopecky has added another Monument to her remarkable collection, winning the 2026 Milan-San Remo Women with a devastating sprint on the Via Roma that left Noemi Ruegg and Eleonora Gasparrini trailing in her wake. It is the fifth Monument victory of the Belgian's career and confirmation that she has fully recovered from the back injury that hampered her 2025 season.
The race was blown apart in the closing kilometres by a combination of crashes and aggressive racing. A heavy crash on the descent of the Cipressa eliminated several key contenders, including Kasia Niewiadoma, removing one of the most dangerous riders from the equation just as the decisive phase began. The incident disrupted the peloton and left many teams scrambling to reorganise.
The race-defining moment came on the Poggio, where Puck Pieterse launched an explosive attack that immediately split the group. Kopecky reacted without hesitation, latching onto the move alongside Ruegg, Gasparrini and Dominika Wlodarczyk. The five riders quickly established a gap over the remnants of the peloton, and it became clear that the winner would come from this select group.
On the Via Roma, Kopecky played her hand to perfection. Waiting until the final metres before unleashing her sprint, the SD Worx-Protime leader powered clear of Ruegg to take the victory. Gasparrini held on for third, with Pieterse — the architect of the decisive move — finishing fourth after her Poggio effort had taken its toll. Wlodarczyk crossed the line four seconds adrift in fifth.
Defending champion Lorena Wiebes led the chase group home for sixth, unable to follow the Poggio acceleration despite her team's earlier work at the front. The result underlines the depth of talent at SD Worx-Protime, who have now won back-to-back editions of La Classicissima through different riders.
For Kopecky, it is a second consecutive spring victory after her Nokere Koerse triumph earlier in March. With the Tour of Flanders approaching, where she will defend her title as the most successful women's rider in the race's history, the Belgian is building an ominous run of form heading into the cobbled Classics.