It was the 4th edition of the Alpes Gresivaudan Classic 2025, featuring a tough stage with a mountain-top finish on Le Collet d’Allevard (11.2 km at 8.4%).
Alpes Gresivaudan Classic 2025 profile
With no huge stars, the field was wide open, with Julie Bego, Valentina Cavallar, Petra Stiasny, and Karolina Perekitko among the contenders. Lotte Claes and Nadia Gontova were in the lead before the final climb, having attacked on the descent with more than 40 km to go. They had around a two-minute lead, but it was not enough against Cavallar, who dropped Petra Stiasny and everyone from the chasing group and was dominant.
Cavallar was by far the fastest on Le Collet d’Allevard, producing 5.08 ᵉW/kg for 40:07. Having only started racing last year, Cavallar has been phenomenal on climbing stages, with her first breakthrough performances coming in French mountain races, especially on the Alpe d’Huez stage in the 2024 Tour de France Femmes. With improvements in bunch skills, she could become a serious climber, as her performance here was exceptionally high level given her limited experience in cycling.
31-year-old San Marino rider Valentina Venerucci, in her first pro cycling season, delivered her career best result with a 5th place finish, beating 2023 World Junior Champion Julie Bego. Venerucci, another latecomer to cycling, might be a name to watch as she enters bigger stage races and aims for a professional contract.
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