Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia Women is a day through medium mountains, with a finishing circuit that will be familiar to many, used for the 2020 UCI Road World Championships. After just 35.3km of racing, the circuit will be completed four times before the finale inside the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Racetrack.
Many legs will be heavy from the queen stage on Saturday, but at the same time inspired for the conclusion of eight days of the race.
Proceedings begin in Forlì, located in the eastern part of the Po Valley just inland from the seaside resorts of the Adriatic coast. Flat road fade after the opening 22km as the rest of the 134km route transforms into a repetition of punchy climbs across the demanding Cima Gallisterna and then the Mazzolano. There are a total of eight categorised summits of either category 3 or 4 that add up to 2,362 metres of elevation gain, the Gallisterna climbed four times.
Only the first climb, Monticino at km 26, is outside the finish circuit into Imola. Once the peloton rushes through the intermediate sprint at Riolo Terme, with 99.6km to go, they will be on the finish loop, which partially runs inside the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Autodrome in Imola. Riders enter the track approximately 2.2km from the finish line, racing clockwise around the circuit.
On the fourth and final circuit, a last corner with 550 meters to go signals the end of the race. From there, a long, slightly-curved finishing straight will lead to the conclusion of the eight-day Grand Tour.
Five years ago it was Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) who won both the road race and the time trial in Imola, while current Giro race leader Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) took the bronze in the road race. With a top finish Sunday on familiar road, look for the Italian Champion do something special to hold off Marlen Reusser (Movistar), who is just 22 seconds away in the GC.
