Giro Rosa 2017 Preview

Jun 30
cyclical

Megan Guarnier, 2016 Giro Rosa champion. © F. Ossola/Giro Rosa

This is the biggest stage race on the women’s calendar: tough, long-established, well-supported, and guaranteed to see the strongest possible line-up on the start line. Except for those injured, nearly all the biggest names will be riding, and we’ll have ten days of action taking the race north-to-south across the beautiful Italian mainland.

The race profile

On the face of it, 2017 is going to be wide open, with a challenging, racing-friendly route. There is no Stelvio or Mortirolo, no massive set-piece lingering in the background which may shape the contenders’ fears and approach to the event. This should also mean that more teams and riders are willing to take a risk, and things might be harder to control.

To counter that, four of the five longest stages are backloaded into the last four days of the race.

There are four punchy, hilly stages, two time trials (the opener for teams, and stage 5 with two nasty climbs in less than 13 kilometers for individuals) and four stages surely designed for the sprinters. In fact, there are only seven classified climbs across all ten stages, going no higher than 846 meters above sea level. This will be a low-altitude war of attrition.

We start in Italy’s north-east, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia before turning southwards to the Veneto for stages 3 and 4. There’s a transfer to Marche region for the stage 5 time trial around Sant’Elpidio a Mara, while stage 6 takes place in Abruzzo.

Stage 7 is held in Molise/Campania, with the final three days in Campania, as we reach almost to the toe of Italy’s boot.

Overall contenders

Defending champion Megan Guarnier has raced little this year, in comparison to her major rivals, but the American’s capabilities are well known, and the way she wrested the race lead away in 2016 suggests that the mental toughness required to lead and win a Giro Rosa are at least as strong as her physical capacity.

What makes it interesting for Boels-Dolmans is the fact that 2015 winner Anna Van Der Breggen also lines up, backed by Lizzie Deignan. Three captains, and four highly-capable domestiques make Boels-Dolmans ‘the team most likely’ …

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Orica-Scott) has been targeting this race since her Olympic disaster and subsequent miracle return, and now has the belief in her climbing abilities that she may have lacked before. Her build-up has been smooth, and she blitzed the Dutch time trial nationals last weekend, so the form is clearly there. She looks to have a full team at her disposal, too.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) is fresh off a storming ride to her national title, and sets out from Aquileia in the tricolore. With Marianne Vos invalided out, the only other former winner riding this year is Claudia (Häusler) Lichtenberg, who is still capable of a big win as she heads towards retirement and offers Longo Borghini the perfect tactical foil in the hills.

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (Cervelo-Bigla) had a fantastic end to the spring with a sequence of wins in France, and has the climbing legs to pull out significant time gaps.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma (WM3 Pro Cycling) won the Women’s Tour earlier this month in fine style, and despite Vos missing out, the Pole is backed by a team that will ride for her, no questions asked. She’s now a proven World Tour winner, and brave enough to hit out on her own … but will the peloton make the same mistake as they did on stage 1 to Kettering in the Women’s Tour?

Rosella Ratto (Cylance) is due a big result, especially on home territory, and will have plenty of strength around her with the likes of Knol for the flat stages and Doebel-Hickock for the hillier efforts.

Elena Cecchini (Canyon-SRAM) came through a fiery finale to Thuringen Rundfahrt last year to establish her credentials as a stage racer, and can’t be ruled out here, especially as the course favors someone with her abilities over punchy courses.

Tatiana Guderzo leads a strong Italian contingent for Lensworld-Kuota, and went top ten last year, so there’s no reason to suspect she can’t do at least the same in 2017.

Sprinters

The fast women should have at least four clear opportunities; stages 3, 4, 6 and 9 all look like prime sprint territory, being shorter in distance and very flat. Stages 4 and 6 have barely a bump on the profile, but that doesn’t always mean there won’t be a surprise in there.

Chloe Hosking leads Alé Cipollini, fresh off a stage win in the Women’s Tour, and she’ll be backed by Marta Bastianelli who had good spring form with wins in the Basque Country and Italy already this year.

Coryn Rivera has extended her contract with Team Sunweb, and will take out the frustration of a third consecutive American nationals silver medal on the roads of Italy.

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Wiggle-High5 have Belgian Bullet Jolien d’Hoore and Giorgia Bronzini for the fast finishes, with both those riders able to handle punchier finales, too.

Lotta Lepisto returns to top-flight action for Cervelo-Bigla and has the confidence of a great spring behind her (beating d’Hoore, Hosking and Bastianelli to win Gent-Wevelgem). Kirsten Wild will lead the Cylance sprint charge, and is a sound bet for a win.

Ten days of flat-out racing to come … we can’t wait!