The GC contenders will have their next major opportunity to make gains on their rivals as the Giro d'Italia Women heads back into the mountains with a summit finish at Pianezze, Valdobbiadene, on Wednesday.
After the first three days of racing, Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) is leading the overall classification by 13 seconds to Marlen Reusser (Movistar), while defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) is still in third at 31 seconds back, and four-time overall winner Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) is in fourth at 35 seconds back.
There will be limited expectations on Henderson to maintain her overall race lead in the standings, as every day in the maglia rosa is a bonus. Her team has stated that Shirin van Anrooij, who sits in sixth place at just 56 seconds back, is the team's leader for this race.
"I'm really happy and grateful to wear the maglia rosa again. Today's experience was special, also thanks to my team who even decorated my bike and helmet in pink," Henderson said after crossing the finish line at the end of a crash-marred stage 3 in Trento.
"But tomorrow will be a decisive stage for the general classification, and it will be very difficult to keep the jersey. The crash at the end happened right in front of me, and I couldn't avoid it. I don't think I suffered any serious consequences, and I hope all the riders involved are OK."
The peloton will face a second summit finish on stage 4's 142km race from Castello Tesino to Pianezze, Valdobbiadene; the first uphill finish was in Aprica on stage 2, where Henderson won from a breakaway and pulled on the leader's jersey.
On Wednesday's fourth stage, the peloton will first take on an undulating and hilly course where there are no flat sections and then descend into Val Cismon, pass near Feltre, and skirt the base of the Dolomiti Bellunesi to Belluno.
After navigating around Nevegal and leaving Lago di Santa Croce and Vittorio Veneto behind, they will face the steep Muro di Ca’del Poggio.
The route then crosses the UNESCO Prosecco Hills before the final climb to Pianezze at 11.2km in total and an average gradient of 7%. However, inside that final kilometre are sharper pitches of 11% just before the 'flamme rouge'. The road is wide and well-paved, with a few hairpin bends all the way to the top.
It is here that the true climbers among the standings will have all to play for in their hunt for the maglia rosa. Riders like Van der Breggen, who is going for her record-tying fifth overall title, and Longo Borghini will want to gain time early on against her primary rivals.
But no one can discount stage 1 winner Reusser, who has won GC titles at Vuelta a Burgos and Tour de Suisse this year and who has been one of the strongest climbers of the season so far.
While Demi Vollering is not in this race, her FDJ-Suez teammates Juliette Labous, who is currently in the top 10 overall, and Évita Muzic as a support rider, will look to gain time, and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM), too, is waiting patiently for the steep pitches of the Pianezze to make a move.
There are a few riders who have some ground to make up after the first three stages. Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) is 1:18 back but a solid climber who will undoubtedly want to show her strengths on this ascent. Fenix-Deceuninck teammates Yara Kastelijn and Pauliena Rooijakkers will also need to regain lost time in the overall classification.
This is the mid-point of the race, and after the climb to Pianezze, there is only one other major summit finish on stage 7 at Monte Nerone, which is sure to be the GC decider at the Giro d'Italia Women before it concludes in Imola on Sunday.
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our Giro d'Italia Women coverage. Don't miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from one of the biggest women's stage races of the season. Find out more.
