Anna van der Breggen demolishes the opposition in Giro d’Italia Women uphill time trial
CyclingTuesday, 02 June 2026 at 16:47
The fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia Women was won by Anna van der Breggen. The Dutch climber was emphatically the strongest in the uphill time trial, with a lead of one minute over her direct rivals. Demi Vollering finished third behind Marlen Reusser.
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After three sprint stages, all won by Elisa Balsamo, Tuesday brought the first GC test. There was a tough uphill time trial of almost 13 kilometres on the menu, including a 7.4-kilometre climb at an average of 8.2 per cent.
It was mainly a case of watching the strong GC riders such as Marlen Reusser, Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen, though there were other contenders too. In any case, the standings would finally become clear.
No early benchmark from Bunel
At 13:05 the time trial got underway with the red lantern, Ilaria Marinetto of Team Mendelspeck E-Work. The first meaningful benchmark, however, was expected from riders such as Marion Bunel, who had already lost two minutes on stage one. The Frenchwoman from Visma | Lease a Bike rode the climb well, but did not beat the time of the relatively unknown Solène Muller of St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93.
The wait then was for Urska Zigart, who was the first of the GC riders to start. Shortly afterwards, world champion Marlen Reusser also rolled off. The excellent time triallist, however, could not produce a big effort at the first checkpoint and had to concede a few seconds to Zigart. Of course, it could still have been a case of the Swiss rider pacing the time trial differently.
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Read on below the video!
Reusser paces it perfectly
What was clear was that Monica Trinca Colonel had started fast. The Italian began the climb with a 14-second margin over Zigart and 16 seconds over Reusser. The favourites then followed one another in quick succession. The first top time was set by Zigart, who crushed Muller’s time by more than a minute, before the wait began for Reusser.
The world champion had paced the climb excellently and beat the Slovenian convincingly by almost 50 seconds. Meanwhile, rivals Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen were also on the road. The fast-starting Trinca Colonel could not challenge Reusser, but with a gap of less than half a minute she still set a very solid time.
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Continue reading below the photo!
Van der Breggen crushes the field
It was then time for the first intermediate times from the Dutch stars. Vollering came through at roughly the same time as Reusser, but Van der Breggen came through 42 seconds faster at the first time check. Meanwhile, Antonia Niedermaier posted a strong final time, just 22 seconds down on Reusser.
Elisa Longo Borghini also rode a solid flat section, so the fight for the stage win was still wide open. Vollering was the first to finish, but she could not beat her Swiss rival. She lost six seconds at the line, before everyone waited for Van der Breggen.
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The Dutch rider was exceptionally fast throughout and destroyed her rivals at the finish. Her margin over Reusser and Vollering was more than one minute. Only Longo Borghini could still threaten her at the line, but the Italian could not do it either. She came home eighth, almost two minutes behind Van der Breggen.
Results stage 4 Giro d'italia 2026, women:
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Latest Comments
- The only cyclist who can beat Tadej is Tadej.
Brucegel09-05-2026 - Enough of this b.s. already.Just tell the world all you suspicious people what would satisfy you that he is not doping.live real time urinating and testing?.Live real time blood draws 5 seconds after a race is over?.Fecal analysis.WTF will satisfy you?Brucegel03-05-2026
- This suspicion could be laid to rest by what? What would make all doubters happy that Pogi is clean? Just tell the world all you Frenchmen et al what you want as protocol.You will never be satisfied.That is your level of mindless groundless suspicions.Brucegel03-05-2026
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- To lose a race like that on a mechanical problem in this day and age is unforgivable. Why aren't all riders using the same (interchangeable) gear? It is the job of the team manager to manage and reduce risk variables. The fact that he not only didn't pick up on the potential issue but actually ok'd it is just madness.fatehasfans13-04-2026
- Rider X, y and z? Could you update?yaNzKEWL21-03-2026
- Can anyone help me understand the thinking behind the two punishments? Are the commissaires saying you get thrown out of the race for a second inadvertent disposal of a bidon (even to the delight of fans) but that as long as you can afford it you can show off your phalangeal cuticles all day long on international TV? Aking for a friend.packfiller7112-03-2026
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
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