Unstoppable Wiebes sprints to first pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia Women

Lorena Wiebes won the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia Women on Saturday evening. The Dutch sprinter from SD Worx-Protime was by far the fastest in the bunch sprint, which also earned her the first pink jersey.

While the men are almost at the end of their Giro, the women began their nine-day race in Italy. The start was given on Saturday afternoon in Cesenatico, on the Adriatic coast. The finish came after 139 kilometres of racing in Ravenna.

The women’s Giro could count on a strong field. Among those on the start line was European champion Demi Vollering of FDJ United-SUEZ. It had been some time since she last took part in the Italian stage race; her previous appearance dated back to 2021, when Vollering finished third overall. This year she came for nothing less than overall victory.

Vollering could ease into the race, because her decisive stages were still to come. The opening day — with no serious climbing — was one for the sprinters. And that immediately points to one woman: Wiebes. The SD Worx-Protime sprinter had already won five Giro stages in the past and last year also took the points classification. However, she had never worn the pink jersey before.

Wiebes is also having a strong season this year. She has already raised her arms in victory nine times. Even so, stage victory was far from guaranteed. Charlotte Kool of Fenix-Premier Tech, Nienke Veenhoven of Visma | Lease a Bike and Elisa Balsamo of Lidl-Trek meant the competition was serious.

After the Giro Women got under way, there was a wait for the first attack. In the end it was the Italian Sharon Spimi who chose the offensive. That triggered a counter-move from her compatriots Valeria Curnis and Sofia Arici.

The trio initially built up a healthy four-minute lead over the peloton, where SD Worx were controlling as expected. Not much else happened until around 90 kilometres from the finish, when as many as 25 riders crashed. World champion Magdeleine Vallieres of EF Education-Oatly and Cat Ferguson of Movistar were among those down. Ferguson was unfortunately forced to abandon the race as a result.

The leading trio did still contest the first intermediate sprint, which was won by Arinci, but the breakaway was brought back by the peloton with 50 kilometres to go. The pace was therefore high, partly because of nerves and the wish to avoid crashes. The earlier mass fall had clearly left its mark.

After that, a variety of lead-out trains formed at the front of the peloton to keep the fast finishers out of trouble. There were no more serious attacks, and so the women’s peloton headed towards the expected bunch sprint.

Meanwhile, Belgian champion Justine Ghekiere of AG Insurance - Soudal Team was riding well behind the peloton. Visibly emotional, she crossed the line for the penultimate time. She seemed to be struggling badly with temperatures close to 30 degrees.

As the final 10 kilometres began, the bunch became even more nervous, and that had consequences. Greek champion Argiro Milaki of Aromitalia Vaiano and Nina Berton of EF Education-Oatly both hit the deck. Both riders were able to continue.

To limit the danger, FDJ United-SUEZ moved forward to guide Vollering safely through the risky finale. But it was crowded at the front. With six kilometres to go, UAE took over the pace-setting, with Elisa Longo Borghini even helping position sprinter Lara Gillespie.

Inside the final three kilometres, Anna van der Breggen helped bring Wiebes to the front. Lidl-Trek were also well placed with Balsamo. In the end, Wiebes began the final kilometre in second position, with only one teammate left. She then launched very early and won by a clear margin. That means the Dutchwoman will wear the pink jersey for the first time in her career. Balsamo was second, ahead of Gillespie.