Giro d'Italia Donne: Annemiek Van Vleuten takes second victory on stage 6

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) took advantage of tired legs to turn a likely day for the sprinters into a stage-winning afternoon for the world champion and race leader on stage 6 of the Giro d'Italia Donne.

With her 101st victory as a professional, the Dutchwoman now holds what looks to be an unassailable lead in the hunt for the maglia rosa.

With Van Vleuten coming over the line in Canelli alone, it was up to Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) to show what might have been by pipping Liane Lippert (Movistar) in a sprint for second place, whilst a diverse group of sprinters, rouleurs and climbers alike followed them over the line. Van Vleuten capitalised on the 2.5km climb that fell within the final 15km to open a gap that would not be closed before the finish.

With many expecting a sprint at the end of the stage, there was no great battle for the day’s breakaway and the only move that stuck was the duo of Elinor Barker (Uno-X Pro Cycling) and Petra Stiasny (Fenix-Deceuninck) with just over 50km to ride. But the peloton had this move well under control approaching the final climb, where Van Vleuten made good on her pre-race plan.

“For sure it was the plan to attack before [the stage], so you wake up after yesterday - a really hard stage - and then the team comes again with a plan to attack, and I am always in for a plan to attack,” gleamed Van Vleuten. “It was a 2.5km climb before the finish, and you could also feel that everybody was tired from yesterday, so then my chances to make a difference on a short climb like that get bigger!”

Revelling in her coup against the sprinters, Van Vleuten exclaimed, “It’s super cool to win on a day that beforehand, you think ‘this may be for a sprinter.’ I think Lorena Wiebes also showed that it could be for a sprinter, but I tried to avoid that and go for an attack.”

Racing recap

With a day beginning and ending in Canelli, stage 6 looked like one for the sprinters, should they be able to get over the two category 3 climbs within touching distance of the peloton. The race also started without one of its key animators, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), who did not take to the start this morning after suffering a heavy crash on stage 5.

With the two climbs only beginning after 60km had been ridden, the first half of the stage was rather uneventful and a futile 10km attack by Lea Fuchs (Born To Win G20 Ambedo) was soon nullified.

Approaching the first of the climbs, it was Susanne Andersen who once more displayed her Norwegian national champion’s jersey and put in the opening attack, with the Uno-X rider taking teammate Elinor Barker and Karlijn Swinkels (Jumbo-Visma) with her for company.

Although this move was soon brought back, Barker was not dissuaded and formed the day’s defining breakaway alongside Petra Stiasny (Fenix-Deceuninck), with the leading duo being briefly but unsuccessfully chased by Swinkels and Gaia Masetti (AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step). Over the QoM point it was Van Vleuten who rolled over the line in third, already showing her intent to create a difficult afternoon for the bunch.

As the peloton neared the top of the climb, an innocuous crash occurred that caused Urška Žigart (Jayco AlUla), Alessia Vigilia (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM) to hit the deck. This spelt the end of Niedermaier’s race, having won stage 5 and sitting second on GC, as well as that of Žigart.

Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Annemiek van Vleuten on her way to a 15th stage victory at the Giro d’Italia Donne

Approaching the intermediate sprint in Santo Stefano, the peloton broke apart and saw an elite composition of riders take the place as the first group on the road, featuring Liane Lippert, Francesca Barale (dsm-firmenich), Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich), Blanka Vas (SD Worx), Lorena Wiebes and Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ).

At the sprint and having caught the leading duo, it was Labous who led Esmée Peperkamp (dsm-firmenich) and Van Vleuten over the line, who each picked up three, two and one bonus seconds, respectively.

The final categorised climb of the day was the 2.5km Calosso test, averaging 7.2% and being classified as a category 3 climb. Van Vleuten left her rivals in her wake with 14km to ride, going solo and as she passed the summit, only 12km separated her from the stage victory.

Behind the race leader, a chasing group formed that included Lippert, Labous, Soraya Paladin (Canyon-SRAM), Mavi García (Liv Racing TeqFind), Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx), Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) and Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ), whilst Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) was one of the notable riders to regain contact on the descent towards the finish in Canelli.

Van Vleuten came over the line alone after a punchy uphill finish, but it was Lorena Wiebes who caught the eye behind by pipping Lippert to second place. The only rider in the top five on GC at the end of the stage to finish in the top 10 was García, who came over the line 28 seconds down on Van Vleuten.

Barring accident or misfortune, Van Vleuten looks imperious in the lead of the race, holding a 3:03 and 3:39 advantage over Ewers and Labous, respectively. All of the top 10 from the start of the day ended the stage in the same order, but all moved up a place with the abandonment of Niedermaier, with Persico rounding off the top 10 for UAE Team ADQ.

We’ll be showing live and on-demand coverage of all nine stages of this year’s Giro d’Italia from Friday, June 30 to Sunday, July 9. Head over to GCN+ now to check the start times of each broadcast so that you don’t miss out on a moment of the action! As always, territory restrictions will apply.