Longo Borghini outsmarts Reusser with clever attack in queen stage of Giro Donne, won by Gigante

After a few tricky days, which saw Lorena Wiebes win an echelon stage and Liane Lippert take a hilly stage, Saturday was time for the queen's stage. The stage to Monte Nerone was the longest of the race, featuring 3,700 meters of climbing. The final climb was definitely not easy: if Marlen Reusser still had the pink jersey after this stage, she would take a giant step towards the overall victory.

The Dutch riders had been in the spotlight every day of the Giro so far: on Friday, they occupied places 2 to 5, and Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ) was the only rider in the breakaway for a long time. On Saturday, too, there was a Dutch rider alone in the lead for a long time: Mijntje Geurts (Visma | Lease a Bike) had a lead of about 4.30 minutes at the halfway point. But with 60 kilometers to go, she was joined by two riders: Shirin van Aanrooij (Lidl-Trek), Friday's number three, closed the gap together with Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa).

The Spanish rider took the mountain jersey from Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance - Soudal) with her breakaway. Together, the three riders were able to extend their lead, and Van Anrooij even wore the pink jersey for a short while. In the last 40 kilometers, however, the lead quickly diminished. On the penultimate climb of the day, Van Anrooij rode away from her fellow breakaway riders. She started the Monte Nerone with a 3-minute lead over the peloton, which only had about 30 riders left after a long, hard day.

Elisa Longo Borghini, second in the GC, was eager to go. Together with teammate Silvia Persico, she attacked on the final descent but was countered by Liane Lippert, Friday's winner and Reusser's teammate. That obstacle did not prevent the Italian champion from starting the final climb with a 30-second lead, thanks to the work of her UAE Team ADQ teammate.

Van Anrooij rode an excellent climb, but behind her, it was up to Longo Borghini herself with 10 kilometers to go. And the defending champion immediately pushed hard: she quickly closed in on the solo leader, and her lead over Reusser kept increasing. Lippert, who had just been dropped by the Italian, had to set the pace in the peloton. That wasn't fast enough, but when Mareille Meijering took over from her teammate, things looked a little better.

The Dutch rider quickly thinned out the peloton, but she couldn't get any closer to Longo Borghini. Before Reusser could solve it herself, Gigante attacked. The Australian had already been the best climber in the previous uphill finish, and now she took off again. The pink jersey wearer failed to respond: she couldn't take the lead from the chasing pack. Was she unable to do better, or was she holding her ground? The steepest kilometers were yet to come.

Van Anrooij's adventure came to an end 5 kilometers from the finish. There, she was overtaken by the unleashed Longo Borghini, who almost immediately took the lead. She still had about a minute on the group with Reusser, but Gigante was also closing in quickly. With 3 kilometers to go, she found the connection, and after a short rest, the climber shot away from the wheel: she was on her way to her second stage victory.

Longo Borghini was suffering enormously: Reusser closed the gap slightly. Barbara Malcotti (Human Powered Health) kept the pace high in the group, wearing the pink jersey. The Italian had her to thank for that, as without her, she would have had no chance. Reusser sneaked a little closer to the Italian champion. Antonia Niedermaier (CANYON//SRAM), Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek), and Urska Zigart (AG Insurance - Soudal) were also able to stay with the Swiss rider.

The leader in the GC took the lead with 1.5 kilometers to go. Gigante had flown away: she took her second stage win in this Giro d'Italia. But did Longo Borghini have enough left to take the pink jersey? The answer was yes: she crossed the finish line 45 seconds behind the Australian, but Reusser lost 32 seconds to the Italian and thus also the pink jersey.