Martina Fidanza delivers Visma | Lease a Bike win at alternative Surf Coast Classic
The women's team Visma | Lease a Bike secured the first victory of 2026. The Dutch outfit saw Martina Fidanza sprint to victory on Thursday in the significantly shortened Surf Coast Classic. The Italian proved too fast in a chaotic sprint ahead of the SD Worx-Protime duo Marta Lach and Barbara Guarischi.
With the Santos Tour Down Under already concluded as the first WorldTour race of the new season, races continued this week on Australian soil. However, the organizers of the Surf Coast Classic (1.Pro) were forced to cancel the Wednesday and Thursday events due to ongoing bushfires.
On Thursday, riders did take part in two alternative, criterium-style races in and around Geelong. It is important to mention that this alternative event is not a UCI race and therefore does not officially count towards the win tally. The women prepared for a race (Cadel's Criterium) of just forty kilometers, mostly over flat terrain.
A bunch sprint was therefore inevitable. Several riders attempted to escape the sprint, but it proved a futile effort. In the subsequent final sprint, no team managed to take clear control, resulting in a chaotic and rather confusing lead-in to the sprint.
Fidanza, however, knew how to handle the situation: the 26-year-old Visma | Lease a Bike rider kept her composure, launched her sprint at the right moment, and managed to hold off the charging Marta Lach. The Italian—daughter of former pro Giovanni Fidanza—earned her first win of the season and the first victory for Visma | Lease a Bike Women in 2026.
