Giro Rosa 2017 – Stage 6 Review

Jul 5
cyclical

Lotta Lepistö (Cervélo-Bigla) is back on top of the podium at a World Tour race after a perfectly-timed sprint to edge Sunweb’s Coryn Rivera and Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-High5) in Roseto degli Abruzzi.

As ever with the Giro Rosa, the official route profile and reality were only distantly related. Valentina Scandolara shared a rather different version of what the women were in for, with plenty of short, sharp hills and nasty 15%+ gradients. This didn’t slow things down: the average speed for the stage was a blistering 40.8kms/h in very hot temperatures.

The high speed prevented any escape sticking on the first two of four laps starting and finishing in the seaside town of Roseto degli Abruzzi, with Boels-Dolmans taking control of the race.

On lap three, VéloConcept’s Claudia Koster jumped away, to be replace by BePink’s Alison Jackson who took the day’s TV sprint. Canyon-SRAM’s Hannah Barnes was first over the top of the QOM and pulled Soroya Paladin (Alé Cipollini) and Astana’s Sofia Bertizollo clear, gaining almost 50”. However, the chase ratcheted up another notch, catching them with ten kilometers to go.

The high speed from the likes of Team Sunweb, Wiggle-High5 and Cervélo-Bigla sliced the bunch down to an elite gruppo, and despite last-dtich attacks from the likes of Valentina Scandolara (WM3), it was left to Lepistö to snatch the win.

https://twitter.com/WM3ProCycling/status/882623002302709761

The multi-time Finnish champion said: “Thomas (Campana, team DS) said this was the perfect stage for us. I trusted and believed that, despite the climbs. It was good to do loops because we knew the finish well in the end. I was in position 30 going up the climb the last time but I gave it all on the descent and ended up in position two at the bottom of the descent, getting into a good position for the sprint.”

No major overall changes, although Anna Van Der Breggen crept another stage closer to the final maglia rosa by picking up an extra three seconds on her rivals with a small gap measured during the sprint finish.

Stage 6 Result, Roseto degli Abruzzi – Roseto degli Abruzzi, 116 kms

1  Lotta Lepistö (Cervélo-Bigla)  2hrs 50′ 36”

2 Coryn Rivera (Sunweb)

3 Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-High5)

4 Roxane Fournier (FDJ)

5 Elena Cecchini (Canyon-SRAM)

6 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Lensworld-Kuota)

7 Emilie Moberg (Hitec Products)

8 Anna Van Der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans)

9 Chloe Hosking (Alé Cipollini)   all same time

10 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Orica-Scott)   + 3”

Overall After Stage 6

1 Anna Van Der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans)   11hrs 53′ 11”

2 Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5)   + 1′ 03”

3 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Orica-Scott)   + 1′ 39”

4 Megan Guarnier (Boels-Dolmans)   + 3′ 11”

5 Amanda Spratt (Orica-Scott)   + 3′ 32”