The Giro d'Italia Women is now only a few days away, and the team line-ups are starting to come together, with the start list shaping up to be one of the best yet.
Topping our list of Giro contenders, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) and Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) are expected to be key players in the battle for pink, but they won't win on their own. In the modern era of women's cycling, having a strong and powerful team is becoming more important than ever.
Whilst FDJ are yet to formally confirm their support squad for Vollering, UAE Team ADQ unveiled their Giro team on Wednesday, and the riders who will be trying to help Longo Borghini secure a third consecutive victory.
Whereas Vollering is also aiming at the Tour this year, Longo Borghini's main focus will be the Giro, and that's reflected in their team here. UAE Team ADQ also fielded reduced squads at all of the Spanish stage races, to allow their Giro team to rest and train – though even with lighter squads, the team still won the Vuelta with Paula Blasi and took two big wins with Dominika Wlodarczyk. So imagine what they can do with their A-team in Italy.
The main word that comes to mind when casting an eye over UAE's Giro team is experience. Between them, the seven riders have a whopping 50 Giro starts, with Lara Gillespie the only debutant. The rest of the team are strong climbers and committed domestiques, and it's very clear the team has just one goal: to help Longo Borghini win pink.
That commitment to one goal and ability to unite as a squad, sacrificing oneself for another's ambitions, has been one of the crowning strengths of UAE Team ADQ this year, and there's nothing to say that ethos won't continue to reward them at the Giro.
They also have a large Italian contingent in the squad, which was part of Longo Borghini's motivation to transfer there in 2024 – they ride under a UAE flag, but the heart of the team is Italian. This will make Longo Borghini feel right at home, especially with her long-term personal coach Paolo Slongo in the team car.
With an uphill time trial and the mighty Colle delle Finestre on the menu in this year's Giro, individual strength will absolutely be important, but the smaller differences will come down to the support on the road, the ability of a team to come back from problems, or support a leader that bit further up a climb. So, as Longo Borghini prepares to go head-to-head with Vollering in Italy this weekend, here are the riders who will be helping her.
Elisa Longo Borghini
Age: 34
Role: GC leader
Giro palmarès: 14 starts, 2 overall wins, 3 stage wins
Elisa Longo Borghini will be the undisputed leader at UAE Team ADQ as she searches for her third overall victory in her home Grand Tour. Despite starting the Giro 14 times – this will be her 15th – her success here has only come relatively recently. After winning the youth classification in 2012, she didn't win a stage until 2020 (stage 8 individual, stage 1 in the TTT) and has only won two stages individually since then.
However, in the last two years – first with Lidl-Trek and then with UAE – she's been a force to be reckoned with at the Giro, making the race her own and exerting her strengths exactly where needed to win in clinical fashion. This year, Vollering will pose perhaps her biggest challenge yet, but Vollering is inexperienced at the Giro, and likely to field a slightly softened team as FDJ save their luxury domestiques for the Tour. Vollering may back herself for the Finestre, but when it comes to reading the rest of the race and conquering the Italian chaos, Longo Borghini and her team definitely win out.
Mavi García
Age: 42
Role: Climbing domestique
Giro palmarès: 7 starts, 1 GC podium and 4 times in the top 10 overall
Mavi García will hope to be Longo Borghini's strongest mountain domestique, given she's a Grand Tour stage winner herself, and not showing any signs of slowing down yet at 42.
At any other team or race, García might be the GC leader herself, but I wouldn't foresee any leadership issues at UAE, as they are particularly good at uniting all riders behind a common goal. That doesn't mean that she can't go for a stage win herself, though.
Lara Gillespie
Age: 25
Role: Sprinter
Giro palmarès: Debut in 2026
UAE Team ADQ are leaning on experience in their Giro d'Italia line-up, but the one exception to that is Lara Gillespie, who is making her debut. She's also probably the only rider who won't be expected to provide any climbing support, and will indeed be the team's sprint option for the flatter stages.
She can rely on Persico and Gasparrini for a little bit of lead-out support, but otherwise won't have a massive sprint contingent, and will also be expected to chip in to work in the peloton on flatter roads.
Silvia Persico
Age: 28
Role: Climbing domestique, punchy stage hunter
Giro palmarès: 6 starts, 2 GC top-10s, several stage top-10s but no wins
Silvia Persico is a rider who can do a bit of everything, and was an important ally and helper for Longo Borghini on her way to winning last year. She will be in a similar role this year, and with the addition of Garcia, they will make a really threatening domestique group for their leader, possibly some of the strongest support on the start list.
Erica Magnaldi
Age: 33
Role: Climbing domestique
Giro palmarès: 8 starts, 5th on GC in 2023
Erica Magnaldi is an underrated climber who will be put to work for Longo Borghini on the mountainous stages and should be one of the final riders with her when the road goes up. She was part of the winning team last year and will know exactly what is needed from her this Giro.
Eleonora Gasparrini
Age: 24
Role: Climbing domestique, punchy stage hunter
Giro palmarès: 3 starts
Eleonora Gasparrini is a young rider who will offer some strong climbing support for UAE, but could also be given some leeway to go for opportunities of her own and in some breakaways.
Alena Amialiusik
Age: 37
Role: Road captain
Giro palmarès: 12 starts, finished 9th overall in 2016
Alena Amialiusik rounds out the squad as a dedicated domestique and likely road captain, given her veteran status in this race, starting nearly as many times as Longo Borghini. Having her brain and strength on the road will make a big difference for UAE, where decisions need to be made quickly and correctly.
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