Vollering reigns supreme on Finestre at shortened Giro d'Italia Women queen stage

The eighth stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia was won by Demi Vollering. The SD Worx-Protime European champion was the strongest on the Colle delle Finestre, but saw Anna van der Breggen keep the pink jersey, helped in part by a shortening of the route: snow and ice made it impossible to descend, so the finish was moved to the top of the high climb.

It was D-Day in the Giro. We had already had two real stages for the GC riders to settle things, and Anna van der Breggen had come out on top in both. The SD Worx-Protime rider was therefore able to start the queen stage in pink. The Colle delle Finestre would be climbed by the women for the first time. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for!

It was a short stage of just 100 kilometres, but it still took around 35 kilometres before a breakaway formed. Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) was joined by the first- and second-placed riders from stage seven, Célia Gery (FDJ-SUEZ) and Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek). Lily Williams (Human Powered Health), Caroline Andersson (Liv AlUla Jayco), Becky Storrie (Picnic PostNL), Rosita Reijnhout (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Susanne Andersen (Uno-X Mobility) were also present.

The gap to the peloton was never very large, though. Before long, the riders were already at the foot of the Finestre. There, the peloton was quickly whittled down, thanks to FDJ-SUEZ, where Lauren Dickson did excellent work for Demi Vollering. But while the riders were grinding their way up, bad news arrived about the route.

There had been a major snowfall after the summit of the brutal climb. There was a possible danger for the riders, so the finish might have to be moved to the top: no finish in Sestriere if that happened.

That was not something the GC contenders could think about: they simply had to ride as hard as possible uphill. The breakaway was caught, and at that point the favourites’ group was only around ten riders strong. Marlen Reusser, fifth in the standings, was starting to struggle. She had to let her rivals go, but kept herself within striking distance at her own pace.

Van der Breggen was still there in good shape. The pink jersey wearer had crashed the day before, but seemed to be feeling little ill effect. At that moment came the news that the finish would be placed a kilometre before the summit of the Finestre because of an unstable ice sheet: a huge blow, but the riders had to continue. Gery, who had dropped back from the breakaway, was now doing the work and helped force world champion Magdeleine Vallieres to lose contact.

The question was: when would Vollering attack? Dickson took over again from her young French team-mate, and that meant the end for Valentina Cavallar (SD Worx-Protime) and Urška Žigart (AG Insurance - Soudal). Defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) also dropped away. Still in the group were Vollering, Van der Breggen, Femke de Vries (Visma), Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM), and the Lidl-Trek duo Isabella Holmgren and Niamh Fisher-Black.

We were now on the unpaved sections of the climb. There, Niedermaier, third overall, took over at the front. But then Vollering launched her attack. That acceleration was answered by Niedermaier, Van der Breggen, Holmgren and De Vries. The second surge soon followed: the attack on pink had begun.

It was not an all-or-nothing move, but a chokehold from the European champion. De Vries was dropped, and later white jersey holder Holmgren, fourth overall, also had to let go. The three best climbers in the Giro were left. Niedermaier and Van der Breggen could, however, seemingly hang on with ease, and Holmgren also managed to come back.

At that point Vollering briefly eased off. The pace dropped slightly, which was a good sign for Van der Breggen. Holmgren was next to attack, but she did not get away. Vollering was struggling too, and so the pink jersey wearer took over at the front. Yet the European champion still had another acceleration in her legs. But there was not much left: Van der Breggen followed, and took over again. A statement.

The former world champion thus seemed to be defending her pink jersey in style. But who would win the stage? The quartet gave each other no space at all. Van der Breggen hoped to make the difference with a searing pace, but that did not work. Remarkably, it came down to a sprint on the Finestre: Vollering launched it, and rode to the win. Holmgren was second a few seconds back, ahead of Niedermaier. Van der Breggen paid dearly in lost bonus seconds and finished fourth.

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]