Elisa Balsamo (born 27 February 1998) is an Italian road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's World Team Lidl–Trek,^[3] and represents Italy at international competitions.

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Elisa Balsamo

Balsamo in 2017
Personal information
Born	(1998-02-27) 27 February 1998 (age 26) Cuneo, Italy
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	53 kg (117 lb)
Team information
Current team	Lidl–Trek
Disciplines	Road Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Professional teams
2017–2021	Valcar–PBM[1][2]
2022-	Trek–Segafredo
Major wins
One-day races and Classics World Road Race Championships (2021) National Road Race Championships (2022) Trofeo Alfredo Binda (2022, 2024) Classic Brugge–De Panne (2022, 2024) Gent–Wevelgem (2022)
Medal record Representing  Italy Women's track cycling World Championships 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Team pursuit 2021 Roubaix Team pursuit 2018 Apeldoorn Team pursuit 2020 Berlin Madison 2021 Roubaix Omnium European Games 2019 Minsk Team pursuit 2019 Minsk Omnium European Championships 2016 Yvelines Team pursuit 2017 Berlin Team pursuit 2020 Plovdiv Omnium 2020 Plovdiv Madison 2024 Apeldoorn Team pursuit 2018 Glasgow Team pursuit 2020 Plovdiv Team pursuit 2023 Grenchen Team pursuit 2017 Berlin Omnium 2019 Apeldoorn Team pursuit 2023 Grenchen Madison 2024 Apeldoorn Madison Junior World Championships 2015 Astana Scratch 2016 Aigle Team pursuit 2016 Aigle Omnium U23 & Junior European Championships 2015 Athens Junior Team pursuit 2016 Montichiari Junior Team pursuit 2016 Montichiari Junior Omnium 2017 Sangalhos U23 Team pursuit 2017 Sangalhos U23 Omnium 2018 Aigle U23 Team pursuit 2019 Ghent U23 Team pursuit 2019 Ghent U23 Madison 2017 Sangalhos U23 Madison 2018 Aigle U23 Madison Women's road bicycle racing World Championships 2016 Doha Junior Road race 2021 Flanders Road race European Championships 2020 Plouay U23 Road race 2016 Plumelec Junior Road race 2022 Munich Road race

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After competing at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in the women's junior road race she became junior world champion at the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in the junior's road race. She won the gold medal at the 2016 UEC European Track Championships in the team pursuit.^[4]

Balsamo was born in Cuneo in 1998. Her father was an amateur cyclist. Before taking up cycling, she had competed in a number of skiing disciplines, as well as biathlon and swimming.^[5]

Balsamo's first major win came at the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in Doha, where she won the Road Race in a bunch sprint ahead of Skylar Schneider.^[6] She signed for Valcar–PBM for the 2017 season.^[7] Her first professional win came at the Omloop van Borsele in April 2018,^[8] followed by a win at the GP Bruno Beghelli later in the year.^[9]

In 2019, Balsamo finished first in a bunch sprint at the Dwars door de Westhoek,^[10] as well as stages at the Tour of California^[11] and the Giro delle Marche in Rosa. In 2020, Balsamo won the final stage of the Madrid Challenge, overtaking Lorena Wiebes in the final 50 metres.^[12]

Balsamo began the 2021 season with a win at the GP Oetingen.^[13] She competed for Italy at the 2020 Summer Olympics; whilst she broke the Italian record as part of the team pursuit, she finished in 8th position in the madison and outside the Top 10 in the omnium.^[14] After a period of stage racing in Spain and The Netherlands, during which she finished second in the Grand Prix d'Isbergues,^[5] she was selected as part of the Italian team for the UCI Road World Championships. After a number of attempts by the Dutch team to break away from the group, Balsamo won the bunch sprint from the remaining group of around 25 riders, ahead of Marianne Vos.^[15] Her first win as World Champion came at The Women's Tour, in which she won the final stage.^[16]