Stage 1 of the Giro Rosa was a flat team time trial (TTT) of 15.5km along the foreshore of Lago Maggiore, starting and finishing in the town of Verbania.

Tension was high from the beginning with little difference posted between the finishing times. After 10 teams had crossed the finish line, three were sitting in equal first position in a time of 19’43”.

With seven teams left out on the road, it looked like none would come in under 19 minutes, the closest being Movistar in 19’35”. This time was soon clipped by Waowdeals Pro Cycling Team in 18’59” and then completely smashed by TeamSunWeb Women, who powered across the line in 18’25” at just over 50km/h.

TeamSunweb managed to hold onto their winning time by the smallest of margins, with the predominantly Australian squad, Mitchelton-Scott, finishing just 1 second behind.

As the first across the line, TeamSunWeb’s Ellen Van Dijk will start Saturday’s stage in the maglia rosa as the leader of the General Classification (GC). Australian Sarah Roy (Mitchelton-Scott) will wear the cyclamen jersey as the winner of the points classification.

Stage 2 preview

Saturday’s Stage 2 will see the Giro Rosa move south to Ovada, where the women will compete over a hilly 120km course. While there are no climbs substantial enough to split the peloton, this stage is likely to be raced aggressively.

Some teams will be looking send riders up the road in a breakaway, while those with strong sprinters and GC contenders will want to keep the race together for a bunch finish.

This is the type of course that suits Australian sprint star and Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Chloe Hosking (Alé Cipollini), or Belgian Jolien D’hoore (Mitchelton-Scott).

https://www.cyclingstage.com/giro-rosa-2018/stage-2-route-ita-2018/

Cycling terminology

Points classification - A secondary category in a stage race, where points are awarded to riders for high finishes and winning intermediate sprints.

Breakaway - A small group of riders (or a solo rider) who break away from the peloton prior to the race finish or other significant point of the race in order to get an advantage.