Giro Rosa - Stage 9 recap

The race started with a short 30 km loop that passed again through the starting town of Tricesimo. From there the peloton began the long run north towards the famous Monte Zoncolan.

At the halfway mark, Silvia Valsecchi (BePink) and Sara Penton (TeamVirtu) broke away from the bunch and worked together to gain an advantage of 2’55”. However the peloton slowly closed the gap as the road began to drag up and inclement weather hit.

As the peloton hit the base of the climb proper, the lead group quickly reduced to only 40 riders. Many dropped back as they suffered on the steep gradients, which averaged over 15% in some parts.

Almost halfway up, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio launched an aggressive attack that only Annemiek Van Vlueten could follow. They rode upwards, leaving the rest of the field behind them.

Behind the two leaders Eider Merino (Movistar) and Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) continued to battle it out.

With only 3 km left to climb, Van Vlueten hit Moolman-Pasio with an attack and developed a small gap, which she slowly extended all the way to the finish line.

Van Vueten claimed the impressive stage win 40” ahead of Moolman-Pasio and further extended her lead in the General Classification.

“I’m really happy we finished here on the Zoncolan”, said Van Vlueten, “Compliments to the organisation.”

 

#GiroRosa18 🇮🇹🎀 Queen of the Zoncolan⚡️⚡️⚡️ @annemiekvanvleuten

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Spratt accelerated up the final pinch of the Zoncolan to secure 3rd for the day ahead of Merino, finishing 2’54” down on teammate Van Vlueten.

Heading into the final stage on Sunday, Van Vlueten securely holds the maglia rosa by 3’35”. Moolman-Pasio moves up to 2nd and Spratt into 3rd at 5’53”.

Results:

https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia-femminile/2018/stage-9

Stage: Annemiek Van Vlueten (Mitchelton-Scott)

General classification: Annemiek Van Vlueten (Mitchelton-Scott)

Points classification: Annemiek Van Vlueten (Mitchelton-Scott)

Mountain classification: Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott)

Youth classification: Sofia Bertizzolo (Astana)

Teams classification: Team Sunweb

Australian Riders

Position Rider Team Time behind leader
3 Amanda Spratt Mitchelton-Scott 5.53
15 Shara Gillow FDJ 15:44
81 Tiffany Cromwell Canyon SRAM Racing 1:00:49
91 Gracie Elvin Mitchelton-Scott 1:09:23
98 Sarah Roy Mitchelton-Scott 1:12:34
116 Chloe Hosking Alé Cipollini 1:26:20
124 Jessica Allen Mitchelton-Scott 1:35:42

Stage 10 preview

The final stage of the Giro Rosa will be another tough day for the peloton.

The 120 km course will feature 3 loops, starting and finishing in the town of Cividale del Friuli. The first 100 km are relatively flat before the peloton reaches the final climb of the tour, which is 6 km long at an average gradient of 7%. Those who crest the top first will then follow a fast 10 km descent towards the finish line.

Lucinda Brand (TeamSunWeb), who has been climbing very well and is one of the best descenders in the peloton, may have a chance at winning this stage. However any rider would need to win by a considerable distance to make a change in the General Classification standings.