ANTONIA HOLDS WHITE, SITS 7TH ON GC WITH TWO GIRO STAGES TO GO

In what was an attritional, up-and-down Giro d’Italia Women stage six, a two-rider breakaway of Lippert (MOV) and Rooijakkers (FDC) ultimately fought for the win, with three other riders crossing the line solo behind them. Antonia finished spent but composed, coming in +1:24 minutes down on the winner – 18th on the stage and safely among the main GC favourites. She retains a 54-second lead over Holmgreen (LTK), with a gap of +3:44 mins to third-placed Chladoňová (TVL).

The 145 kilometre day featured nearly 2500 metres of climbing, including five long and distinct climbs, before riders hit a 15km finishing circuit packed with twists, turns, and short, punchy rises.

Antonia certainly felt the demands of the terrain and the intensity of the racing, but managed the overall effort wisely:

“Yeah, it was a really hard stage – we were just climbing, descending, climbing, descending. There were a lot of attacks but I think we as a team did quite well.”

“We tried to stay out of the wind and not waste too much energy. I’m also happy that we did that quite well, and that I was with the group of GC riders at the end. I think it was good that I was there and not in the breakaway because that would have cost me too much energy. You could lose a lot of energy being in a breakaway today, so I don’t think it was a bad thing to stay within the group.”

Saturday’s penultimate stage of this year’s Giro is set to be a huge day out for the peloton. Although the colossal summit finish atop Monte Nerone (14.8km at 6.6%) dominates the profile, it accounts for just one of seven climbs and around 1000m of the 3610m total elevation gain. Antonia is under no illusions about the scale of the challenge:

“I think it will be a really hard race from the beginning, but the final climb will be the part of the race where the GC is decided for good.”

Stage five was a hugely disappointing day and one to forget for the team. A split occurred out of a sharp corner in the final 40km and a group of around 20 riders formed at the front of the race – never to be seen again by the rest of the field. Antonia moved down to 6th position on GC, having climbed to 4th place and 4th on GC the day previous up the 11km finishing climb to Pianezze. On today’s stage, she slipped one further position, now sitting 7th after being overtaken by Rooijakkers (FDC), who placed second on the stage and now lies 4th overall. Antonia currently trails GC leader Reusser (MOV) by +2:45 mins, but is just +52 secs behind third-placed van der Breggen (SDW).

With the looming challenge of Stage 7 and the demanding Stage 8 finale on the brutal 2020 UCI Road World Championships circuit near Imola, the final two days are all but guaranteed to reshuffle the GC deck once again.

Antonia remains composed and confident heading into what is almost certain to be the most decisive stage:

“Tomorrow is the GC day – it’s the hardest stage, and I think the GC can change completely. So, I’m not too worried about today’s time gaps. Of course, it’s always a bit annoying to lose positions to strong riders, and I know Pauliena [Rooijakkers] is really strong, but I think I can beat many riders on the climb tomorrow and also jump back up in the GC.”

HOW TO FOLLOW

Stage 7 | Saturday, July 12 | Fermignano – Monto Nerone | 149.8km  | 3610m elevation | Start: 9:50 – Fastest finish: 14:10 CET.

Stage 8 | Sunday, July 13 | Forlì – Imola (Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari) | 133.8km  | 2417m elevation | Start: 10:40 – Fastest finish: 14:15 CET.

Live coverage available from 12:50 CET each day via Eurosport, Discovery Plus, TNT Sports, FloBikes and RAI. Stay updated on X with #GirodItaliaWomen and #UCIWWT, and follow CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s social channels for the latest team updates.