World champion Lizzie Armitstead continued her winning start to the 2016 season by kicking off the inaugural UCI Women’s WorldTour with Strada Bianche victory.
Armitstead, who won her first race in the rainbow jersey last week at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, followed it up with victory on the white gravel roads of Tuscany.
The British superstar accelerated away from the three-strong leading group on the final climb to Piazza del Campo to win the 121km by three seconds from Rabo Liv’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma.
It means Armitstead – who has won the last two UCI Women’s World Cups, which the WorldTour replaces – leads the rankings after the first race.
