"The character of the tour suits me, it has really hard hills, fast descents, nice finishes and a good atmosphere."
"The climbing stages definitely surpassed anything that imagined."
"..as soon as I got out of the saddle and started sprinting I knew I didn't have the acceleration that I was going to need to win."
"Aside from developing my engine, the big takeaway has been routine."
"I knew from the profile that today was going to be a hard day."
"The energy you waste today won't be there seven days from now."
"I had the whole team with me and everyone pitched in to the lead out."
"In the last metres I made a mistake and waited too long."
"So happy and honoured to race through my training roads."
"It was more about managing yourself up the climb the best you could."
"I gave everything, I lost probably half a second on the last corner!"
"The beauty of the Giro Rosa is there's always surprises and opportunities."
"It's really special and I'm proud to wear the jersey."
"Elena Cecchini has become the second woman in Italian history to win three national road race titles."
"Three months ago Trixi Worrack had emergency surgery to remove her left kidney."
"Today was my worst day in the tour ."
"It was a shame that Elena crashed, it was quite nasty and the timing was poor."
"Going up the second QOM on Bank Road was like the second last climb in Flèche Wallonne."
"I'm disappointed not to win but I can be happy with second place today."