Elisa Balsamo planned to make the most of her year as world champion, and in the 2022 season, when she competed for Trek-Segafredo, she did just that. [With victories on the first stage of the Setomana Valenciana in February and the fifth and final stage of the Serratigit Challenge by La Vuelta on Sunday, Balsamo capped off a remarkable year in the rainbow jersey.

"I really wanted to win today, the last day of a great season in the rainbow jersey. I won my first race, the Setmana Valenciana in February, and with today's win I was able to close the circle. Today is a special day and full of emotions. Madrid was a crazy stage," Balsamo said.

"I'm so happy. It's my last race in the rainbow jersey and what better way to end a great season. The team was really the strongest today."

"I'm really grateful to the team, they've been great to work with.

Balsamo crossed the finish line on stage 5 of the Serratigit Challenge, winning the bunch sprint ahead of Lotte Kopecky (SD Works) and Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ).

It was his last race with his trade team, Trek-Segafredo, before the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia, September 18-25.

As she crossed the finish line in Madrid, she grabbed the front of her rainbow jersey and kissed it. It was a gesture to show how she felt about her phenomenal progress since winning the world title last year and wearing the rainbow jersey for the first time with Trek-Segafredo, the women's world team.

Balsamo won the world title at the 2021 UCI Road World Championships in the city of Leuven. Her Italian teammate had an impressive leadout and held off Dutch favorite Marianne Vos for the win.

It was a victory that seemed to symbolize not only her own success, but also the broader success of women's cycling in Italy.

The powerful 24-year-old sprinter has only been racing on the professional cycling circuit for six seasons, and she attributes much of her growth and success to the Italian-based Continental team Valcar- where her career began in 2017. attributed to Travel & Service. It is a development team that has supported the early careers of many of the country's top riders.

With this team, Balsamo won stage victories at the Tour of California, Challenge by La Vuelta, and one-day races such as GP Oettingen, Dwars Door de Westhoek, Omloop van Borsle, Trophy Maarten Winants and numerous other podium finishes.

This year alone, her Italian compatriot Elisa Longo Borghini won Paris-Roubaix and the women's Tour, while Marta Cavalli won the Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne, and finished second overall at the Giro d'Italia Donne. Others were Marta Bastianelli and Erika Magnardi (both UAE Team ADQ), Soraya Paradin (Canyon-SRAM), Chiara Conssoni and Eleonora Camilla Gasparini (both Valcar), and Rachele Barbieri (Rib Racing-Stra), Gaia Rialini (Isolman-Premac-Vittoria), among others.

Balsamo contributed greatly to her country's success in the "golden week" of the Women's World Tour, winning the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Brugge des Pannes, and Gent-Wevelgem. She also won a stage at the Tour de Suisse, two victories at the Giro d'Italia Donne, and a road race win at the Italian National Championships.

In February, when Cycling News magazine asked Balsamo what a successful 2022 season would look like, she replied, "It will be a new experience and I am positive. I know it will be difficult, but I am ready to work hard for it."

She added, "It's going to be a challenge, but I am ready to work hard for it.

In hindsight, Balsamo surpassed herself in her first year with the Women's World Team under the pressure of the Rainbow Band. Her victory in the fifth and final stage of the Serratigit Challenge by La Vuelta was her ninth win of the 2022 season.

The Italian Federation has not yet finalized its selection for the World Championships. However, Italy does have candidates such as Balsamo, Longo Borghini, and Silvia Persico, a stage winner at the Serratigit Challenge by La Vuelta.

The 164.3 km women's elite/U23 race across the urban circuit, which includes the Mount Quila circuit and Mount Pleasant, has an elevation gain of 2,433 m. Balsamo has proven she can both climb and sprint.

There is no chance that Balsamo will continue her rapid progress and win back-to-back World Championships and another season in the rainbow jersey.