From July 2nd through July 11th, the Giro Rosa returns under a new name, Giro d'Italia Donne. The women's teams rolled out in aero helmets and skinsuits from the town of Fossano, with squads of six riders embarking on a 10-day trek across Northern Italy with all eyes on defending champion Anna van der Breggen.
Read below for stage-by-stage updates, results, and highlights.
Stage 2: SD Worx sweeps podium in summit finish
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The second stage of the Giro Donne covered just over 62 miles, with more than 2,000 meters of climbing—most of it in the last 19 kilometers of the course.
The final kilometers contained the biggest climb of the day—over 1,000 meters—which made the last 15 kilometers streamed live all the more painful and exciting to watch. Unfortunately, the live feed struggled in this stage, irritating viewers who had tuned in early Saturday to watch the finish of the race.
The Giro Donne was downgraded in UCI status for 2021 due to the lack of live broadcast in 2020. Despite the assurances of the organizers that the race would be back with many improvements to live coverage, cycling fans remain unimpressed, especially since North Americans require a paid GCN subscription to tune in.
How did the race unfold?
At 9 kilometers to go, Erica Magnaldi (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling) and Niamh Fisher-Black (Team SD Worx) attacked and had 19 seconds over the chasing group of around 15 riders. Meanwhile, GC leader Ruth Winder (Trek Segafredo) fell behind the chase group after leading during some of the early attacks.
With just under eight kilometers to go, current World Champion and three-time Giro Donne winner Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) attacked and passed the leaders. Several smaller groups began to chase her up the final climb, but van der Breggen appeared smooth and in control despite an average of 6.4 percent gradient. With five kilometers to go, she'd established a gap of 28 seconds, with her teammate Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio sitting in second behind her. Marta Cavalli (FDJ) chased Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) in third as the riders entered the race’s final kilometers, and Van der Breggen extended her lead to 46 seconds.
With 2.4 kilometers to go, Cavalli rode around Vollering to move into third, attempting to prevent an SD Worx podium sweep. Van der Breggen was undeterred, her lead steadily growing to more than a minute as she closed in on the finishing stretch.
It was no contest as van der Breggen crossed the line with plenty of time to celebrate her win, though she powered through the finish as quickly as possible to move into the GC lead and put on the pink jersey for tomorrow's stage.
Back down the mountain, the other 140 riders fought their way up the climb, trying to claw back second in order to keep their overall time standings in the GC as close to the leader as possible. SD Worx' Moolman-Pasio crossed the line in second more than a minute back, followed by Vollering, who nipped Cavalli at the line for third, sweeping the podium for SD Worx. Magnaldi finished in fifth.
"The climb was hard; there was a lot of suffering," Van der Breggen admitted. "Today's goal was about getting as much time [in the GC] as possible."
How did the Americans do?
Americans also fared well in this stage: Clara Koppenburg (Rally Cycling) took an impressive third on the last QOM climb of the day. Koppenburg also finished only minutes down from the leaders in an exceptional 12th place finish. Coryn Rivera (Team DSM) led early race attacks as part of a four-rider break and had established a 35-second break with 25 kilometers to go.
Tune in for Stage 3 tomorrow, where riders will cover 83 miles from Casale Monferrato to Ovada. This mountainous stage covers a few sharp, short climbs in the second half of the race, with three climbs that will count for mountain leader points. The finish comes after a descent and a short flat, so there's potential for a tight finish sprint.
How to watch
Most days, the live stream begins between 8 and 9 a.m. EST on GCN Race Pass (available in selected territories). Cycling fans worldwide can help make a case for bringing better coverage to women's racing by tuning in each day to catch the end of the race. Highlights and rider interviews can also be found on YouTube.
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Stage 1: Trek Segafredo takes pink in the TTT
Luc ClaessenGetty Images
The 10-stage Giro d’Italia Donne began today with a team time trial running from Fossano to Cuneo in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. This afternoon stage was only 16.5 miles with a gradual climb to the finish and set teams up for a speedy first day of racing. It was a hot, sunny summer day in Fossano at around 85 degrees at the race start, prompting many of the racers to do warmups while wearing ice vests to keep cool.
Trek-Segafredo's squad won the time trial, kickstarting the team's drive towards the leader's jersey. American Ruth Winder became the first woman of the 2021 Giro Donne to (ahem) don the pink jersey—a solid start for her pre-Olympic build. Winder will be representing the US on the road in Tokyo, and she particularly loves the team time trial.
Before the race, Winder wrote on Instagram, "TTT might just be one of my favorite disciplines... TTTs are even more special when you feel a large amount of respect for your teammates. Each of my Trek Segafredo teammates are so strong and combined I’m excited to see what we can do. Regardless of the outcome, I know I will always be proud to be among them."
The teams took to the course in three-minute intervals, and Winder had good reason to be proud. Trek-Segafredo was one of the last teams to start but finished a full eight seconds ahead of the second-place team, SD Worx, in a time of 33:40. Their speed was a blistering 29.56 MPH, even with team member Lizzie Deignan reportedly dealing with a technical issue early on in the race.
“It wasn’t the plan for me to cross the line first and take the pink jersey,” Winder said in Trek Segafredo's press release. “We were all just going full-gas to the line, and it just happened that around the last round-about, I was second behind Ellen van Dijk, and we were just sprinting full for the line.”
The Trek Segafredo team includes the double threat of GC contenders Lucinda Brand and Elisa Longo Borghini, and the boost from the team win will put them in a good position heading into the second stage. (Longo Borghini finished third overall in the 2020 Giro Donne.)
“We tried very hard today because we have such a strong leader with Elisa, who is super strong and super Italian, very proud, and this race means a lot to her,” Winder added.
Team SD Worx, with three-time Giro Donne winner Anna van der Breggen, finished in second, while Alé BTC Ljubljana finished third and 40 seconds behind the leaders. They were followed by Canyon SRAM Racing and Movistar Team.
Tomorrow's stage will kick off racing in earnest as riders begin to battle it out to see who will be in the pink jersey (the Giro Donne's version of the yellow leader's jersey) at the end of the day. The stage is just over 62 miles, with more than 2,000 meters of climbing. The final kilometers will be worth watching since much of the climbing happens in one final, brutal mountain finish.
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