Cyclocross star Lucinda Brand delivers Elisa Balsamo to 4th win at Giro d’Italia Women

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) won Thursday’s longest stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia in Brescello. Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) got through the day without any damage and will therefore start stage seven in the pink leader’s jersey once again.

After two days for the GC riders, the balance of power in the women’s Giro d’Italia was already becoming a little clearer. Van der Breggen took control on Tuesday with a convincing win in the mountain time trial, before defending her maglia rosa in Wednesday’s hard stage in a race won by Demi Vollering.

On Thursday there was another flat stage on the schedule, without Lorena Wiebes, who had been disqualified after stage one. But Charlotte Kool (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) were still the two big favourites for stage six. It was no surprise, then, that the two teams took control.

From the start, four Italian riders went up the road and built up a maximum lead of five minutes: Camilla Bezone, Sharon Spimi, Gaia Segato and Irene Cagnazzo. In the peloton chasing behind them, the riders had enough time to enjoy the views along Lake Garda.

While doing so, the riders suddenly caught sight of Lorena Wiebes’ Dutch champion’s jersey. The SD Worx-Protime rider had travelled to Italy after her DSQ to train, right where the Giro was passing. Wiebes gave her fellow competitors a big cheer, after which many hands were raised back towards the Dutchwoman from the peloton. Lovely images!

There was time for that, it seemed. The emphasis is on seemed, because a little over 60 kilometres from the finish the peloton suddenly split in the wind. Vollering ended up in the second group and Marlen Reusser and Femke de Vries even in the third, which meant all hands were on deck everywhere. After 15 kilometres of chasing, everyone came back again.

In any case, it was clear from that point that everyone had been warned, because little remained of the leisurely stage that had been expected beforehand. All the big teams gathered towards the front together, so as not to be caught out again. In that way, they also took some sting out of the race.

Towards the decisive final part, the riders started racing again, knowing that there were some crucial corners in the last kilometres. We even saw Vollering on the front, which was her way of staying out of danger towards the three-kilometre mark. The European champion then reached that point unscathed.

After that it was down to the teams of the fast riders, with UAE and Lidl-Trek at the front. Vollering also came to the front again to repay her team-mates. Reusser did the same, but kept going straight through the passage under the flamme rouge, and in doing so put her own team-mates out of contention.

A section of the peloton did get through, with Brand and Balsamo leading the way. The Dutchwoman took the corners like a cross rider, with her Italian leader glued to her wheel. Balsamo then launched her sprint 250 metres from the line and finished it off calmly: her fourth already!