European champion Lorena Wiebes beats Marianne Vos and Chloe Dygert in a sprint
The European champion Lorena Wiebes (Sd Worx) won the first sprint of Giro Donne 2023 confirming herself as the best sprinter and also the one equipped with the best group sprint.
The 118 kilometres from Formigine to Modena were quite stressful because of the heat and numerous attack attempts. This morning the castle of Formigine served as the background to the presentation of the teams, an event welcomed by a large audience together with institutional representatives such as the town mayor Maria Costi.
The first phase of the race was characterised by the attack attempt of four athletes who took the lead during the two urban segments right in front of the castle: Matilde Vitillo (BePink-Gold), Iris Monticolo (Top girls Fassa Bortolo), Sofia Rodriguez (Bizkaia Durango), Noemi Lucrezia Eremita (GB Junior Team Piemonte) who managed to earn up to 1’10”. The group then reunited near the Grand Mountain Prix of Marano sul Panaro where Fem Van Empel (Jumbo Visma team) passed first, followed by Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez).
After the downhill slope a new attack attempt animated the race: Giorgia Vettorello (BePink-Gold), Asia Zontone (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria) and Alice Palazzi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) succeeded in earning up to 1’25”. The attempt of the three outriders finished at 11 km to the arrival.
The last phases of the race centred on the actions of sprinter-focused teams such as Uno X, Team Dsm and Sd Worx. As announced this morning, in the final kilometre the time scores for the final ranking were paused, so as to ensure greater safety for the racing athletes right before and during the narrow passage placed at about 800 m from arrival. Lorena Wiebes eventually excelled in the sprint thanks to the valuable help of her teammates. Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo Visma) and Chloe Dygert (Canyon Sram) completed the podium. This is the third victory for the European champion at Giro Donne. No change in the overall ranking.
Here are the words of the winner Lorena Wiebes (Sd Worx): «Today I am extremely happy for the victory, the last time I won at Giro was two years ago. The team did an incredible job because from the beginning of the stage they tried to keep the race closed, keeping the various attack attempts under control. Barbara Guarischi was perfect because she brought me to the last curve in the best possible position. What I had to do was just to put all the strength I had left for the final 50 m».
Giro d’Italia Donne Press Office- Giorgia Monguzzi- monguzzi.gio@gmail.com +393312401918
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The words of the pink jersey Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team): It was a great first day in pink despite the great heat. I think that the choice to neutralise the time scores on the last kilometre was right, the road tightened and the safety of athletes always comes first. Such an arrival could never have affected the overall ranking, but if we had been there surely it would have become more dangerous. Congratulations to the organisation for making the right decision».
Today’s podium:
- Lorena Wiebes (Sd Worx)
- Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo Visma)
- Chloe Dygert (Canyon Sram)
Today’s jerseys:
- – Pink Jersey- Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team)
- – Cyclamen Jersey- Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team)
- – Green Jersey- Marta Cavalli (Fdj-Suez)
- – White Jersey- Gaia Realini (Lidl Trek)
- – Blue Jersey- Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl Trek) Link below to download all the material about the 3rd stage such as rankings, route details and official photos (credit by Massimo Fulgenzi- Sprint Cycling Agency): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DosRt86zJ8uWChU4ZUo42-awrAx9ICP6?usp=drive_link Where to watch tomorrow’s stage: Fidenza – Borgo Val di Taro (134 km): 1.00 PM – 2.00 PM Rai Sport
2.00 PM – 3.00 PM Rai Due
1.00 PM -3.00 PM Discovery+ 6.00 PM Eurosport 1
