Giro Rosa 2020 – Stage 8 [FULL STAGE]

September 18, 2020

Giro Rosa 2020 – Stage 8 – Castelnuovo della Daunia – San Marco La Catola : 91,4 km

The Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile, more well known as the Giro Rosa, is one of only two stage races remaining on the Women’s WorldTour’s revised late-season calendar created after racing was halted due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic this spring. It is one of the most important events on the calendar as the only women’s Grand Tour, now held from September 11-19. The long-running event traditionally offers a challenging route that utilises some of the most iconic mountain passes throughout Italy – the Stelvio, Mortirolo and Gavia [that was cancelled from last year’s race due to landslides – ed.] – along with punchy stages and sprint finishes that all cater to the most riveting bike racing. Defending champion and reigning world champion, Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott), will return with a powerful team that includes co-leader Amanda Spratt in what she said is expected to be a tough edition, but not the toughest.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) won stage 8 of the Giro Rosa, her first stage win in her ninth participation in the Italian Grand Tour. The 28-year-old allrounder attacked with Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) on the steep slopes of the final climb, and the two held a sizable advantage when the climb flattened out 2km from the line before it steepened again for the final kilometre.

On the uphill finish, Longo Borghini beat Van der Breggen to the line in a close sprint. The Dutch champion gained enough time on overnight race leader Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) to take over the pink jersey with only one stage to come.

“I’ve been waiting many years for this victory, my first at the Giro Rosa, and I’ve tried many times this week,” Longo Borghini said at the finish. “I want to thank my team, Trek-Segafredo, that set me up so well.”

Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott), who had led the overall classification after winning stage 2, was forced to abandon the race due to a fractured wrist sustained in a crash on the previous day.

Van der Breggen said that gaining the pink jersey after Van Vleuten’s crash the previous day is not how she would have wanted it.

“This is not how you hope to get the pink and I hope everyone who was in the crash yesterday will be fine,” van der Breggen said. “But you could feel that the fighting spirit was back in the race, today, and that was a good thing. Today was a hard stage, echelons, long downhills and the final climb was really steep and really long.

“I’m happy to be in pink.”

How it unfolded

The stage was a short one, measuring only 91.5km from Castelnuovo della Daunia to San Marco la Catola, but the final was one of the hardest of the whole race. Starting 5.6km from the finish, the climb averaged 12.5 per cent for over three kilometres before a short downhill gave a bit of respite, followed by an irregularly climbing final kilometre.

After a short climb, the first part of the stage was largely downhill, leading to high speeds. Strong crosswinds split the peloton into three groups. White jersey Mikayla Harvey (Équipe Paule Ka) dropped out of the front group with a mechanical, but a strong chasing effort from her team brought her and the second group back to the front just before the second-category climb to Volturino started halfway through the stage.

On the climb, nine riders broke away from the peloton. Lucy Kennedy (Mitchelton-Scott), Katia Ragusa (Astana Women’s Team), Amy Pieters (Boels Dolmans), Pauliena Rooijakkers (CCC-Liv), Jelena Eric (Movistar), Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb), Ruth Winder (Trek-Segafredo), and Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) led by as much as 42 seconds. They were joined by Maria Novolodskaya (Cogeas Mettler Look) who bridged to the group only to then crash out of it on the descent and Ilaria Sanguineti (Valcar-Travel & Service), but the break was caught at the base of the final climb.

After the first kilometre of climbing, only nine riders were left at the front of the race: Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) set the pace for Longo Borghini, and they were followed by Niewiadoma, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine), Harvey, Van der Breggen, Liane Lippert (Team Sunweb), Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (CCC-Liv), and Niamh Fisher-Black (Équipe Paule Ka).

Moolman-Pasio and Fisher-Black were the first who had to let go due to Deignan’s pace. Lippert was the next to be dropped, managed to close the gap again. Halfway up the climb, Van der Breggen attacked. Longo Borghini and Harvey jumped on her wheel, but after 300 metres, Harvey could not keep up anymore.

When the climb flattened out, Longo Borghini and Van der Breggen were 20 seconds ahead of Harvey and 48 seconds ahead of Niewiadoma and Uttrup Ludwig who had been joined by Katrine Aalerud (Movistar Team) and Rooijakkers.

After unsuccessfully trying to shake of Van der Breggen on a steep section just before the flamme rouge, Longo Borghini led all the way to the finish, outsprinting the Dutch champion to win the stage. Harvey finished in third place 31 seconds later. Katrine Aalerud (Movistar Team) finished fourth, 1:06 minutes behind, with Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine), Niewiadoma and Rooijakkers a further 13 seconds down.

Going into the final stage, four laps on a mountainous 27.3km circuit around Motta Montecorvino, Van der Breggen leads the general classification 1:10 minutes ahead of Niewiadoma. Due to her stage win, Longo Borghini moves onto the podium, 2:23 minutes down, but Uttrup Ludwig is only two seconds behind.

Results :
1 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women 2:33:57
2 Anna Van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
3 Mikayla Harvey (NZl) Equipe Paule Ka 0:00:31
4 Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Movistar Team Women 0:01:06
5 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:01:19
6 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram Racing
7 Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) CCC-Liv
8 Liane Lippert (Ger) Team Sunweb Women 0:01:31
9 Marta Cavalli (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:01:52
10 Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) CCC-Liv 0:01:58
11 Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) Equipe Paule Ka 0:02:02
12 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) CCC-Liv 0:02:11
13 Ane Santesteban Gonzalez (Spa) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:02:16
14 Evita Muzic (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:02:20
15 Lucy Kennedy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:02:53
16 Paula Andrea Patiño Bedoya (Col) Movistar Team Women 0:02:56
17 Katia Ragusa (Ita) Astana Women’s Team 0:03:00
18 Margarita Victoria Garcia Cañellas (Spa) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:03:17
19 Jelena Eric (Srb) Movistar Team Women
20 Debora Silvestri (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo 0:03:20
21 Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Team Sunweb Women 0:03:41
22 Elizabeth Banks (GBr) Equipe Paule Ka 0:03:50
23 Sara Casasola (Ita) Servetto-Piumate-Beltrami TSA 0:03:56
24 Aigul Gareeva (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro 0:04:07
25 Elizabeth Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo Women
26 Stine Borgli (Nor) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:04:24
27 Juliette Labous (Fra) Team Sunweb Women
28 Barbara Malcotti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
29 Ruth Winder (USA) Trek-Segafredo Women
30 Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv
31 Soraya Paladin (Ita) CCC-Liv
32 Maria Novolodskaya (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro 0:04:33
33 Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita) Bizkaia-Durango 0:04:38
34 Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Astana Women’s Team 0:05:00
35 Amy Pieters (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 0:05:23
36 Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
37 Rasa Leleivyte (Ltu) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano 0:05:37
38 Sandra Alonso Dominquez (Spa) Cronos-Casa Dorada 0:05:48
39 Giorgia Bariani (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo 0:06:06
40 Olena Sharga (Ukr) LVIV 0:06:35
41 Silvia Zanardi (Ita) Bepink 0:07:06
42 Ellen Van Dijk (Ned) Trek-Segafredo Women
43 Sarah Roy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:07:13
44 Coryn Rivera (USA) Team Sunweb Women
45 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:07:40
46 Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:08:12
47 Alena Amialiusik (Blr) Canyon-Sram Racing
48 Laura Tomasi (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
49 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:08:29
50 Maaike Boogaard (Ned) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
51 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb Women 0:09:00
52 Karol-Ann Canuel (Can) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
53 Hannah Barnes (GBr) Canyon-Sram Racing
54 Tayler Wiles (USA) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:09:27
55 Elise Chabbey (Swi) Equipe Paule Ka 0:09:36
56 Elena Franchi (Ita) Eurotarget-Bianchi-Vittoria 0:09:55
57 Teuntje Beekhuis (Ned) Lotto Soudal Ladies 0:11:10
58 Eugénie Duval (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
59 Sabrina Stultiens (Ned) CCC-Liv 0:11:12
60 Markéta Hájková (Cze) Bepink 0:11:26
61 Carmela Cipriani (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano 0:11:42
62 Brodie Chapman (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:11:43
63 Aude Biannic (Fra) Movistar Team Women
64 Erica Magnaldi (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:11:45
65 Elena Cecchini (Ita) Canyon-Sram Racing 0:11:56
66 Omer Shapira (Isr) Canyon-Sram Racing
67 Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
68 Silvia Valsecchi (Ita) Bepink
69 Abby-Mae Parkinson (GBr) Lotto Soudal Ladies 0:12:06
70 Gloria Rodriguez Sanchez (Spa) Movistar Team Women 0:12:29
71 Urska Zigart (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
72 Jolien D’Hoore (Bel) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
73 Eva Buurman (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
74 Lisa Klein (Ger) Canyon-Sram Racing
75 Giulia Marchesini (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
76 Simona Frapporti (Ita) Bepink
77 Letizia Borghesi (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
78 Ainara Elbusto Arteaga (Spa) Cronos-Casa Dorada
79 Elizabeth Holden (GBr) Bizkaia-Durango 0:12:37
80 Lucia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Bizkaia-Durango 0:13:00
81 Grace Brown (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:13:23
82 Francesca Baroni (Ita) Servetto-Piumate-Beltrami TSA 0:13:28
83 Rachel Neylan (Aus) Cronos-Casa Dorada 0:14:03
84 Beatrice Rossato (Ita) Eurotarget-Bianchi-Vittoria 0:14:07
85 Nadine Michaela Gill (GBR) Bizkaia-Durango 0:16:23
86 Spela Kern (Slo) LVIV 0:16:49
87 Greta Marturano (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo 0:17:01
88 Nadia Quagliotto (Ita) Cronos-Casa Dorada 0:17:05
89 Alison Jackson (Can) Team Sunweb Women 0:17:17
90 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:17:31
91 Eugenia Bujak (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
92 Arianna Sessi (Ita) Eurotarget-Bianchi-Vittoria 0:18:29
93 Olga Shekel (Ukr) Astana Women’s Team 0:19:10
94 Diana Klimova (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro 0:19:23
DNF Moniek Tenniglo (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott Women
DNF Olga Zabelinskaya (Uzb) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro
DNF Emma Cecilie Norsgaard Jørgensen (Den) Equipe Paule Ka
DNF Marlen Reusser (Swi) Equipe Paule Ka
DNF Lotte Kopecky (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Anna Potokina (Rus) Servetto-Piumate-Beltrami TSA
DNS Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott Women
DNS Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women
DNS Malgorzata Jasinska (Pol) Cronos-Casa Dorada
DNS Evgenia Vysotska (Ukr) LVIV

General Classification after Stage 8 :
1 Anna Van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 23:05:37
2 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram Racing 0:01:10
3 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:02:23
4 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:02:25
5 Mikayla Harvey (NZl) Equipe Paule Ka 0:02:51
6 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) CCC-Liv 0:04:48
7 Margarita Victoria Garcia Cañellas (Spa) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:05:58
8 Ane Santesteban Gonzalez (Spa) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:06:17
9 Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv 0:07:29
10 Elizabeth Banks (GBr) Equipe Paule Ka 0:07:49
11 Liane Lippert (Ger) Team Sunweb Women 0:08:26
12 Marta Cavalli (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:08:40
13 Paula Andrea Patiño Bedoya (Col) Movistar Team Women 0:09:48
14 Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Movistar Team Women 0:10:04
15 Soraya Paladin (Ita) CCC-Liv 0:11:18
16 Evita Muzic (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:11:33
17 Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 0:11:36
18 Katia Ragusa (Ita) Astana Women’s Team 0:13:15
19 Elise Chabbey (Swi) Equipe Paule Ka 0:14:30
20 Erica Magnaldi (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:15:46
21 Floortje Mackaij (Ned) Team Sunweb Women 0:16:32
22 Maria Novolodskaya (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro 0:17:05
23 Debora Silvestri (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo 0:18:05
24 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:18:33
25 Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) Equipe Paule Ka 0:19:43
26 Amy Pieters (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 0:20:00
27 Elena Franchi (Ita) Eurotarget-Bianchi-Vittoria 0:20:01
28 Elizabeth Deignan (GBr) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:20:12
29 Juliette Labous (Fra) Team Sunweb Women 0:20:34
30 Omer Shapira (Isr) Canyon-Sram Racing 0:21:37
31 Ellen Van Dijk (Ned) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:23:09
32 Lucy Kennedy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:25:01
33 Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) CCC-Liv 0:25:29
34 Karol-Ann Canuel (Can) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam
35 Aigul Gareeva (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro 0:26:13
36 Nadine Michaela Gill (GBR) Bizkaia-Durango 0:26:23
37 Alena Amialiusik (Blr) Canyon-Sram Racing 0:26:30
38 Stine Borgli (Nor) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:27:01
39 Sara Casasola (Ita) Servetto-Piumate-Beltrami TSA 0:28:07
40 Hannah Barnes (GBr) Canyon-Sram Racing 0:29:59
41 Eugenia Bujak (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:32:09
42 Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:33:23
43 Elena Cecchini (Ita) Canyon-Sram Racing 0:34:42
44 Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:35:02
45 Spela Kern (Slo) LVIV 0:35:35
46 Ruth Winder (USA) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:36:30
47 Coryn Rivera (USA) Team Sunweb Women 0:36:43
48 Maaike Boogaard (Ned) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:37:59
49 Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Astana Women’s Team 0:38:57
50 Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) CCC-Liv 0:39:12
51 Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita) Bizkaia-Durango 0:40:14
52 Rasa Leleivyte (Ltu) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano 0:41:01
53 Barbara Malcotti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:41:19
54 Silvia Zanardi (Ita) Bepink 0:44:17
55 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 0:44:32
56 Grace Brown (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women 0:45:01
57 Tayler Wiles (USA) Trek-Segafredo Women 0:45:38
58 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team Sunweb Women 0:46:33
59 Jelena Eric (Srb) Movistar Team Women 0:48:37
60 Alison Jackson (Can) Team Sunweb Women 0:49:12
61 Markéta Hájková (Cze) Bepink 0:49:54
62 Greta Marturano (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo 0:52:05
63 Aude Biannic (Fra) Movistar Team Women 0:53:15
64 Sabrina Stultiens (Ned) CCC-Liv 0:53:26
65 Brodie Chapman (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:53:46
66 Rachel Neylan (Aus) Cronos-Casa Dorada 0:54:18
67 Silvia Valsecchi (Ita) Bepink 0:54:27
68 Teuntje Beekhuis (Ned) Lotto Soudal Ladies 0:55:04
69 Giorgia Bariani (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo 0:55:51
70 Sandra Alonso Dominquez (Spa) Cronos-Casa Dorada 0:57:22
71 Eugénie Duval (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope 0:59:54
72 Laura Tomasi (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo 1:00:00
73 Lisa Klein (Ger) Canyon-Sram Racing 1:00:03
74 Nadia Quagliotto (Ita) Cronos-Casa Dorada 1:00:06
75 Jolien D’Hoore (Bel) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 1:00:48
76 Abby-Mae Parkinson (GBr) Lotto Soudal Ladies 1:03:22
77 Beatrice Rossato (Ita) Eurotarget-Bianchi-Vittoria 1:04:26
78 Sarah Roy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott Women 1:04:50
79 Letizia Borghesi (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano 1:05:06
80 Urska Zigart (Slo) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 1:08:00
81 Carmela Cipriani (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano 1:08:25
82 Francesca Baroni (Ita) Servetto-Piumate-Beltrami TSA 1:08:47
83 Diana Klimova (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro 1:09:08
84 Simona Frapporti (Ita) Bepink 1:09:22
85 Gloria Rodriguez Sanchez (Spa) Movistar Team Women 1:09:41
86 Elizabeth Holden (GBr) Bizkaia-Durango 1:11:09
87 Giulia Marchesini (Ita) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano 1:12:29
88 Olena Sharga (Ukr) LVIV 1:14:20
89 Eva Buurman (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cyclingteam 1:17:14
90 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Ceratizit-WNT Pro 1:19:04
91 Lucia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Bizkaia-Durango 1:20:31
92 Ainara Elbusto Arteaga (Spa) Cronos-Casa Dorada 1:28:40
93 Olga Shekel (Ukr) Astana Women’s Team 1:40:11
94 Arianna Sessi (Ita) Eurotarget-Bianchi-Vittoria 1:51:57