Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) won the Giro d'Italia Women 18 seconds ahead of Marlen Reusser (Movistar). After taking the race lead off Reusser on the penultimate stage, Longo Borghini defended the pink jersey on stage 8 from Forlì to Imola, finishing fourth behind the Swiss woman on the day.
Liane Lippert (Movistar) beat Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) in a two-up sprint for the stage victory after the two had escaped from a group of 12 riders in the last 3km.
“It’s a bit unreal to win two stages here. Unfortunately, we lost the maglia rosa. Marlen was not feeling great, struggling with something, but we kept on fighting. We said, ‘OK, we accept yesterday, today we go full gas for the stage’," said Lippert.
"It was also great to see the whole team was on fire, Marlen was riding for me, and I had the confidence to finish it off today, also to make Marlen happy again."
The German had followed Van der Breggen’s attack in the descent towards the Imola racing track and easily dispatched Van der Breggen in the sprint.
“Marlen and I both knew without talking that if Anna goes, we have to be there. In the end, I was with Anna, and it was a perfect situation for me," she added.
"I started the Giro thinking ‘I will not be good here, I will not be good in the Tour’, now I’m going home with so much confidence. Our sport is like a rollercoaster, and everyone has to keep that in mind and always look for better times. They will come."
How it unfolded
The final stage covered 134km, ending with 3.5 laps of the 2020 World Championships circuit that finished in the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari near Imola. With a climb to Monticino as well as four ascents of the Cima Gallisterna and three climbs to Mazzolano, it was a very hilly route.
Gigante won the first mountain sprint in Monticino, putting her back in the lead of the mountain classification, and the Australian would go on to win the blue mountain jersey. Then it was red jersey Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) who went on a solo breakaway, winning the intermediate sprint to confirm her victory in the points classification.
Wiebes was joined by Sara Casasola (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Léa Curinier (FDJ-Suez) the first time up the Cima Gallisterna, and when they crossed the finish line, they were 1:20 minutes ahead of the peloton.
One lap later, the gap had fallen to just over one minute, and Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) and Mikayla Harvey (SD Worx-Protime) had bridged to the front group. Wiebes started to struggle on the climbs and was eventually dropped on the penultimate ascent of the Cima Gallisterna.
At the top, 37.8km from the finish, the four escapees were 17 seconds ahead of a peloton that had been reduced to 32 riders. From that group, Lore De Schepper (AG Insurance-Soudal) launched an attack on the ridge at the top that was followed by Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) but neutralised by white jersey Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-Sram Zondacrypto).
The breakaway gained time again on the way to the Autodromo and started the final lap with a 42-second advantage. An attack by Curinier led to Casasola losing contact, and on the Mazzolano climb, Spratt was dropped as well while Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) attacked from the peloton.
Smulders reached Curinier and Harvey and led the trio over the top with a 30-second lead over the peloton, where Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike) had attacked just before the mountain sprint.
On the steepest part of the Cima Gallisterna, Smulders accelerated and left Harvey and Curinier behind. De Schepper was now pacing in the peloton that had caught Nooijen, and the young Belgian's pace reduced the group to less than 20 riders.
When De Schepper swung off, Gigante accelerated even more, blowing the group apart as only Niedermaier, Lippert, Reusser, Holmgren, Longo Borghini, and Barbara Malcotti (Human Powered Health) could follow her move.
Smulders crested the climb only four seconds ahead of the chase group that was now led by Rooijakkers, who, like Van der Breggen, had come back on the last part of the climb. Rooijakkers' attack on the ridge was shut down by Holmgren. Évita Muzic (FDJ-Suez) and Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ) also returned to the group.
On the descent, Reusser took up the chase behind Smulders, with Holmgren also taking a turn, and the lone attacker was reeled in 5.8km from the finish. Holmgren attacked just before the 5km mark but immediately had Reusser in her wheel.
Van der Breggen was next to try, putting the pressure on in the descent and causing Malcotti, Magnaldi, Holmgren, Rooijakkers, and Gigante to lose contact, though all five riders came back around the 3km mark. Van der Breggen took a breather, letting Reusser lead the group for a while before launching another move that was followed by Lippert.
Reusser looked across and let the gap open up when she saw her teammate on Van der Breggen's wheel, and even though Smulders threw herself into the chase, she couldn't close the gap.
Having entered the motor racing circuit for the finish, Smulders swung off inside the 2km mark, Longo Borghini looked around, and Reusser had no interest in chasing.
Van der Breggen kept going with Lippert on her wheel until the German launched her sprint with 150 metres to go to win the stage. In the group behind, Holmgren started the sprint first but was passed by Reusser, Longo Borghini and Muzic before the line.
In addition to winning the mountain jersey, Gigante defended her third place overall, and AG Insurance-Soudal also won the team classification.
Results
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