We’re three days into the longest race in the UCI Women’s WorldTour. The Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile, or the Giro Rosa as its more commonly known, began on Friday with an evening prologue won by Canadian Leah Kirchmann (Team Liv-Plantur) on Canada Day. The 26-year-old is the first Canadian to win a UCI Women’s WorldTour race.
Megan Guarnier (Boels Dolmans Cycling Team) swapped her white UCI Women’s WorldTour leader’s jersey with the Giro Rosa’s maglia rosa on Saturday. The American road champion came second to Italy’s Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle High5) to move into the race lead. It was Guarnier’s seventh day in pink following a six-day run in the maglia rosa last year.
Stage two upended the general classification again as American Evie Stevens (Boels Dolmans Cycling Team) outsprinted Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle High5) to the stage win. Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team saw the maglia rosa stay in the team as the jersey was passed from Guarnier to Stevens.
The 2016 UCI Women's WorldTour has now completed 2308.4 kilometres.
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Giro d'Italia Internazionale Femminile continues until Sunday July 10th.
1. Anna van der Breggen (NED) 2. Mara Abbott (USA) 3. Megan Guarnier (USA)
After Monday’s stage three, tailored for the sprinters, the riders will spend three days in the mountains.
The sixth stage is the shortest of the road stages – measuring only 77.5 kilometres – but also the the toughest. The mountain stage between Grosio and Tirano includes the Mortirolo, the Cima Coppi (highest point) of the race. Stage seven is the queen stage and includes a passage of the Madonna della Guardia.
A 21-kilometre time trial on Friday should further sort the overall classification on stage eight before the sprinters come out to play on Saturday’s flat and fast stage nine.
The final stage of the race features an uphill finish in Verbania where the maglia rosa will be crowned.
Leah Kirchmann’s move to a European team for the 2016 season has paid off in a big way. The Canadian snagged her first European victory in the spring at Drentse Acht van Westerveld and was the first wear of the maglia rosa at the 2016 Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile. She will represent Canada in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Key results
1st – Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile, prologue (2016) 1st – Drentse Acht van Westerveld (2016) 1st – Joe Martin Stage Race p/b Nature Valley, stage 2 (2015) 1st – Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race presented by SRAM, stage 2-3 (2015) 1st –Canada Road National Championships, road race (2014) 1st – Canada Road National Championships, time trial (2014) 1st - Delta Road Race (2014) 2nd – Tour of Chongming Island – stage 1-2 (2016) 2nd Aviva Women’s Tour – stage 4 (2016) 2nd - Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race presented by SRAM, overall (2015) 2nd – Chrono Gatineau (2014) 3rd – Tour of Chongming Island, overall (2016) 3rd – La Course by Le Tour de France (2014)
On the 04 of July we are now 31 days away from the 2016 Olympic Games.
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