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In her thirteenth participation, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) received the 2024 Giro d’Italia Women, main the race general from begin to end. Going into the ultimate stage with a one-second lead over Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Longo Borghini adopted Kopecky’s wheel on the Acquasanta climb with 4km to go.
A break of three riders took the bonus seconds, with Kim Le Court docket (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal) profitable the dash for the stage win forward of Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Well being) and Franzi Koch (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), and on the ending straight, Longo Borghini sprinted away from Kopecky to complete fourth on the day and safe the maglia rosa.
“Now it’s mine. Right this moment we began, and other people have been doubting, they have been like, ‘Oh, Kopecky will outsprint you’, and I used to be like, ‘We’ve one per cent of the possibilities to win, we have now one second’,” mentioned Longo Borghini earlier than thanking her teammates and employees.
“Everybody within the group was super-motivated to maintain the maglia rosa, all my teammates did an incredible job and everybody was so dedicated, so thanks very a lot.”
The 32-year-old is the primary Italian winner of the Giro d’Italia Ladies since Fabiana Luperini in 2008, and the significance was not misplaced on her.
“I’m actually proud to put on this maglia rosa in Italy with the Lidl-Trek jersey on. I’ll want a while to grasp what I’ve been doing,” mentioned Longo Borghini.
“It was so particular as a result of my husband got here this morning, he began round 2:30 tonight to be right here, and I simply needed to cross the road with the maglia rosa to indicate everybody that I used to be the strongest and that Lidl-Trek is the strongest group.”
The way it unfolded
There have been a number of assaults early on the stage. Asia Zontone (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria), Loes Adegeest (FDJ-Suez), and Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike) succeeded in getting away and had a 35-second hole however have been caught once more earlier than the intermediate dash that was received by Silvia Zanardi (Human Powered Well being), securing her victory in that classification.
On the third-category Forca di Penne climb, Lucinda Model (Lidl-Trek), Claire Steels (Movistar), and Katrine Aalerud (Uno-X Mobility) went away. Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance coverage-Soudal) bridged to them earlier than the highest and took most factors for her blue mountain jersey.
The 4 escapees’ benefit on what remained of the peloton by no means went above 30 seconds as Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx-Protime) labored onerous to carry them again on the first-category Castel del Monte climb. Ghekiere was first excessive once more, securing the mountain jersey, however the break was shortly caught on the descent.
A transfer by Brodie Chapman (Lidl-Trek) was closed down by Kopecky herself, then Edwards attacked with Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich PostNL). This transfer was reeled in by Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) defending their GC placings, earlier than Le Court docket tried unsuccessfully to get away.
Edwards and Koch received a niche on the descent, and when Le Court docket bridged throughout with 36.5km to go, the day’s decisive breakaway was shaped. Fisher-Black was the one rider chasing for Kopecky in a pelotonthat was down to simply 20 riders, and the hole steadily elevated to 1:quarter-hour.
After an unsuccessful try by Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez), Adegeest went on the chase and had closed to inside 25 seconds of the entrance trio on the backside of the unclassified Acquasanta climb with just below 5km to go, the favourites’ group being 1:20 minutes behind.
Mavi García (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) went onerous on the climb, ultimately reaching the faltering Adegeest, and Magdeleine Vallières Mill (EF-Oatly-Cannondale) tried to comply with the Spaniard however was herself handed by Kopecky who had Longo Borghini and Bradbury on her wheel.
Additional up the highway, Koch was dropped by Edwards and Le Court docket, and the German champion began the descent about ten seconds behind. The group led by Kopecky was 45 seconds down, having caught García and Adegeest. Koch managed to return again to the entrance with 1.8km to go, and the three frontrunners began taking part in cat-and-mouse earlier than getting into the ending climb forward of the flamme rouge.
Assaults from Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Group ADQ), Adegeest, Vallières Mill, and Mareille Meijering (Movistar Group) saved the tempo excessive within the chase group, and García bridged to Vallières Mill and Meijering simply after the flamme rouge. Bradbury launched herself from the chase group on the ending climb, prompting Kopecky to react with Longo Borghini on her wheel.
As Le Court docket sprinted previous Edwards to win her first skilled victory, Meijering, García, and Vallières Mill have been caught once more by Bradbury, Kopecky, and Longo Borghini – and the maglia rosa mobilised her final reserves to make one other acceleration, sprinting away to assert fourth place. Kopecky noticed that she was overwhelmed and stopped pushing, dropping again and shedding 20 seconds on the final metres.
Due to this, the ultimate general classification has Longo Borghini 21 seconds forward of Kopecky – who wins the crimson factors jersey and takes the lead within the Ladies’s WorldTour rating – and 1:16 minutes forward of Bradbury, winner of the white jersey as the perfect U23 rider in addition to the combativity prize. Liv-AlUla-Jayco received the group classification.
Outcomes
Outcomes powered by FirstCycling
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