Antonia Niedermaier blew up the Giro d'Italia Women; what did Vollering say to her during the final stage?

Anna van der Breggen versus Demi Vollering. It was the duel everyone had been looking forward to for the final stage of the Giro d'Italia Women, but the two Dutch favourites nearly got caught out by a German third wheel. Antonia Niedermaier spent a long time virtually in the pink jersey, and eventually finished second overall. A new Grand Tour star has been born.

Niedermaier had been in the fight for the top places in the general classification since the stage four time trial. In the Dolomite stage the following day, she moved onto the podium, and she never let go of it after that. She went into the final day 1:20 down on pink jersey wearer Van der Breggen. Van der Breggen was mainly watching Vollering, and that gave the German from Canyon//SRAM a chance.

She slipped away before the live broadcast of the final stage had even begun, leaving the group of favourites. For a long time, very long, she was virtually in the pink jersey. When Vollering made her move, the dream faded, but Niedermaier finished third on the stage and so took over second place in the overall standings. “I tried everything I could, and I am pretty happy with the result,” she said in the flash interview after the finish. “We played it well, and it was a great Giro.”

For a moment, though, it looked as if there might be a huge surprise. How did that happen? “After the descent we just stopped,” she explained. “We all tried to attack, and somehow I ended up alone at the front. Elisa came across, along with Niamh. For a long time it was the three of us, and then Demi joined us. It was a good scenario for us.”

At certain moments, her lead over Van der Breggen and Vollering was almost two minutes, and cooperation was nowhere to be found. Niedermaier suddenly seemed to be riding towards overall victory in the Giro d'Italia. “I actually did not think too much about that. I just did everything I could, then we would see.”

When Vollering accelerated on the final climb, the blue jersey wearer quickly rode up to the leaders. She joined them 27 kilometres from the finish, after which the Dutch rider struck up a conversation with Niedermaier. What did they say to each other? “She told me she needed to rest for a moment, and that afterwards she could work with us.”

Once it became clear that second place was secure as well, the fight for the stage win could begin. But Niedermaier did not involve herself in that. “I already knew Elisa would win the stage, actually. She was super strong today, and she deserved it.” She was also already celebrating her second place in the standings. “It means a lot, especially because I fought so long for this podium.”

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]