Giro Rosa 2017 – Stage 9 Review

Jul 9
cyclical

Marta Bastianelli has been around the top level of racing for a decade, but she’s packed a lot into those ten years: work, injury, family, an enforced absence from racing, and a consistent record of wins. And she’s still only 30. She also saved face for her home nation with a first Italian stage win in the 2017 Giro Rosa.

The race was a brutal attrition from the flag as the route profile rolled upwards towards 600 meters above sea-level. Riders were falling away all the time, and soon all that was left was an elite group of around 50 riders. Boels-Dolmans were in complete control of the front, almost daring anyone to try and attack.

Elena Cecchini (Canyon-SRAM), Floortje Mackaij (Team Sunweb), Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Wiggle-High5), Sofia Bertizzolo (Astana), Simona Frapporti (Team Hitec), Ana Covrig (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), and Dani King (Cylance Pro Cycling) were the first serious group to forge clear, in an attempt to shake things up for their team-mates further down the road, but they got little leeway.

Annemiek Van Vleuten strengthened her grip on the mountains jersey by taking the QOM points with around 50 kilometres to go, as the big group ploughed on.

https://twitter.com/WM3ProCycling/status/883760507748044800

Lauren Kitchen (WM3), Malgorzata Jasinska (Cylance) and Anna Trevisi (Alé Cipollini) broke clear ahead of the day’s TV sprint and took about a minute with 25 kilometres to go, but they were caught with three clicks to race and Bastianelli stormed through ahead of Lotta Lepisto (Cervelo-Bigla) and Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-High5), with no overall change in the race for the pink jersey.