Demi Vollering became the second woman to win the Giro d'Italia Women, La Vuelta Femenina, and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift after her triumph in Italy on Sunday.

With one day to go at the Giro, it looked like Vollering's dream was over. The Dutchwoman, aiming for her first pink jersey, and the first part of her Giro-Tour goal, remained 49 seconds behind race leader Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) heading into the final stage. Her opportunity to turn the race around on the Sestriere stage had been dashed, after snow and ice shortened the day and took out the final climb.

The FDJ United-Suez rider was disappointed after winning on the curtailed stage eight, but managed to turn it around with a tactical masterclass on the final day to clinch the race overall. She put over two minutes into Van der Breggen to win, with Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM) leapfrogging into second-place. The dream was not dead.

“I gave it my all on the final climb; it was the time trial of my life,” Vollering said after the race.

“I had to be ready to take risks, even if it meant losing everything. I did it, we did it. I can hardly believe it.”

The lead-up to this moment began in 2023, as Vollering soared over the finish in the Tour de France Femmes to take the overall win. A year later, it was the turn of the Vuelta. Now aged 29, Vollering has completed the set in Italy: a pink jersey to line up with a yellow and red.

But she’s not the first woman to complete the set. Annemiek van Vleuten took the triple back in 2023. The Dutch rider left the sport having won the biggest Grand Tours in the calendar, as well as Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, Strade Bianche Donne, the Olympic time trial and multiple road world titles.

Yet, had Van Vleuten retired at the age Vollering secured the triple crown, she would never have been able to win all three races – because they didn’t exist yet. The Tour de France Femmes was only launched in 2022. This year, Jonas Vingegaard became the eighth male rider to win all three Grand Tours.

The Grand Tour triple crown is therefore not only an incredible sporting achievement; it’s a reminder of the opportunities only recently afforded to the women’s peloton; a record of the talent rapidly developing within it, and a reminder of the feats one can accomplish despite being firmly within an age bracket the sport deems “mature”.

“Today was purely about daring to lose,” Vollering said. “I had to dare to lose everything, and I did.”

Demi Vollering will next line up at the Tour de Suisse on the 17 June.

Elisa Longo Borghini was fastest from a four-rider leading group and took the final stage of the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women, but it was Demi Vollering who will claim the headlines as she overcame a 49 second deficit to rip the maglia rosa from the grasp of Anna van der Breggen.

FDJ United-Suez's Vollering attacked Van der Breggen of SD Worx-ProTime on the final climb of the race and powered away from the four-time winner to claim her career Grand Tour triple.

The pair were locked in a stalemate as Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), Antonia Niedermeier (Canyon-SRAM) and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) attacked on the first category Montoso climb. Both Dutch riders refused to work together to reel in the leaders as Niedermeier moved into the virtual lead of the race.

Then with one sustained and brutal acceleration, Vollering buckled Van der Breggen on the last climb of the Colletta di Brondello and bridged over to the leaders.

Longo Borghini won the sprint ahead of Fisher-Black and Niedermeier as Van der Breggen finished the stage 2:23 behind and down to third on GC. Niedermeier ended the race in the runner-up spot.

It's been a below par season for Italian champion Longo Borghini who has struggled with illness in recent weeks. The winner of the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Giro d'Italia Women was delighted to overcome her problems and celebrate her first win since early March.

"This means much more than a win. This is a comeback," Longo Borghini said afterwards.

"I don't hide that I've been vulnerable these months, both in my body and also in my mind. There were days where I thought that everything probably would never come back and I was maybe done. I've been very sick the past three months and I worked very hard to come back."

"I'm not still 100% but I didn't want to leave this Giro without leaving a mark. Today on the bus I felt this anger coming inside me and I was like, I have nothing to lose, I don't care about the GC and I just want to go and I want to do it for my teammates that are simply amazing and I just wanted to win."

"It was the only thing I was thinking today: to win," Longo Borghini added.

How it Happened

With a healthy advantage over her rivals, 145km separated four-time winner Van der Breggen from a fifth title at the Giro d'Italia Women on stage nine, which featured three categorised climbs before a long flat section to the line in Saluzzo.

No breakaway managed to get away from the bunch before the category one climb of Montoso, which averaged almost 10% over 8.6km.

FDJ United-SUEZ lifted the pace on the climb in an attempt to set up Vollering, but it was Longo Borghini, Niedermeier and Fisher Black who separated themselves away from the rest with more than 90km to go.

The race behind splintered into pieces. Vollering and Van der Breggen found themselves locked together and refused to work with one another for several minutes, allowing the gap to the leaders to grow and letting Niedermeier into the virtual overall lead of the race.

Eventually, the former team-mates began to collaborate and the gap stabilised. Then, on the last climb of the day, the second category Colletta di Brondello, Vollering attacked, breaking the resistance of the race leader.

Van der Breggen looked exhausted and the lead expanded, with Vollering needing to put more than 49 seconds into her compatriot to win the race.

Vollering made it up to the front three with 30km left. Her lead over Van der Breggen grew over a minute and more as the others in the group collaborated with the European champion and the race leader toiled alongside Femke de Vries (Visma-Lease a Bike).

On the line Vollering had put 2:23 into Van der Breggen and sealed her first Giro title. Fisher-Black led out the sprint for the stage win, but Longo Borghini used all her speed and experience to come round the New Zealander to take her fourth Giro stage win.

Results

Giro d’Italia Women stage nine: Saluzzo > Saluzzo, 145km

1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ in 3:45:09
2. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) Lidl-Trek, same time
3. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM, +2s
4. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez, +3s
5. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, 2:23
6. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, same time
7. Sigrid Haugset (Nor) Uno-X Mobility, +5:59
8. Lauren Dickson (FDJ United-Suez), +1.10, same time
9. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +6:01
10. Magdeleine Vallieres (Can) EF Education-Oatly, same time

General Classification after stage nine

1. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez in 29:54:19
2. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM, +30s
3. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, 1:37
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +2:44
5. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) Lidl-Trek, +3:26
6. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +5:07
7. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +7:10
8. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, +12:19
9. Valentina Cavallar (Aut) SD Worx-Protime, +13:12
10. Lore de Schepper (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal, +13:29

Célia Gery out-sprinted Lucinda Brand and Chantal Pegolo to win stage seven of the Giro d'Italia Women after a daring descent.

The 20-year-old FDJ United-SUEZ rider got herself into a winning position and recorded her first career victory, after bridging to the break on the day's only classified climb, with Brand (Lidl - Trek) and Pegolo (Isolmant - Premac - Vittori) taking second and third place, respectively.

Earlier in the day, race leader Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) and Marlen Reusser (Movistar) were caught up in a crash involving multiple riders. However, Van der Breggen remains in pink.

Before the sprint, GC contender Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) burned up valuable energy for little return – ahead of another big day tomorrow – working hard during a break in the final 10km, in a gamble that ultimately came to nothing.

Meanwhile, Demi Vollering played the tactical game and deliberately held back, instructing her FDJ-SUEZ teammates to keep their powder dry and not contribute to the chase, a strategy that bore extra fruit for the team when Gery got the win.

Before the defining feature of the day, the climb up Pietragavina, a breakaway group led by Italians Gaia Segato (Vini Fantini - BePink) and Chantal Pegolo (Isolmant - Premac - Vittoria), along with Canadian Alison Jackson (St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93) had led the peloton for a long part of the stage.

During the 7.9km climb their lead was rapidly eroded, however, and the peloton became stretched as those at the front of the pack pushed to reel them in, with several riders falling out the back. Notably, multistage winner Elisa Balsamo was strong enough to stay in the mix, helped by her Lidl-Trek teammate Lucinda Brand.

Segato held on just long enough to take the maximum Queen of the Mountain points, but the order was completely shaken up during subsequent descent, as FDJ United-SUEZ went on the attack, led by Vollering.

"At the top of the climb I accelerated to position Demi for the descent," Gery told reporters after her win, before describing how the situation became chaotic. "I was going very fast… I didn't know what to think about the situation, but I was able to play it tactically. I had to stay fresh in the head and keep my nerve, but that's it - I've done it."

While this was her first senior victory on the big stage, the 20-year-old Frenchwoman is the reigning UCI Junior World Champion in road racing, and under-23 European champion in cyclo-cross.

Results

Giro d’Italia Women stage seven: Sorbolo Mezzani > Salice Terme (159km)

1. Célia Gery (Fra) FDJ United-Suez 3:51:13

2. Lucinda BrandLidl - Trek 0:00

3. Chantal Pegelo (Ita) Isolmant - Premac - Vittoria 0:00

4. Alison Jackson (Can) St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 0:00

5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ 0.03

6. Gaia Segato (Ita) Vini Fantini - BePink 0:03

7. Lara Gillespie (Ita)UAE Team ADQ 0:08

8. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon//SRAM 0:08

9. Millie Couzens (UK) Fenix-Premier Tech 0:08

10. Josie Nelson (UK) Team Picnic PostNL 0:08

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE seven

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, in 23:40:36

2. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez, +1:00

3. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:24

4. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +2:01

5. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +2:03

6. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +2:07

7. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) Lidl-Trek, +2:33

8. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:38

9. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco, +3:21

10. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal +3:26

SD Worx-Protime have said that the UCI is not engaging in conversation with them over Lorena Wiebes' disqualification from the Giro d'Italia Women for having an underweight bike.

Speaking to Wielerflits this week, the team's manager Erwin Janssen said: "The UCI is simply not responding. No one is answering the phone. Only our lawyer has been able to reach someone higher up at the UCI."

After winning stage one of the Giro on Saturday, Wiebes was disqualified after her bike – a Specialized Tarmac SL8 equiped with Roval wheels and a SRAM Red groupset – was found by the UCI commissaires to weigh less than 6.8kg, the minimum weight requirement.

Later that evening, SD Worx-Protime released a statement raising “serious questions” of the UCI’s bike-weighing procedure.

Wiebes was disqualified under UCI article 2.12.007, rule 2.2, which refers to “use of a bicycle that does not comply with regulations”. UCI rule 1.3.019 stipulates the weight of a bicycle cannot be less than 6.8kg.

As a result of the ruling, the Giro d'Italia Women's organiser, RCS Sport, declared Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) the stage winner, and the Italian also pulled on the pink jersey.

Janssen reiterated this week that his team will take the UCI to court over the incident.

"We are going to hold the UCI liable and have hired a lawyer," he explained. "Besides seeking some form of vindication, this disqualification also has a huge financial impact.

"It is difficult to say how large the damage is in euros, but you have to think of the prize money from multiple missed stages, the missed UCI points, and agreements in sponsor contracts. We are currently in the process of calculating all of that... It is very likely that it will go to CAS (the Court for Arbitration in Sport)."

SD Worx-Protime raised questions over how the bike was weighed, claiming that there were issues in the process, and that they had weighed the bike separately, and that it passed the test. They alleged that it failed the test by just 20 grams.

"It is simply bizarre that we are being brushed off like this," Janssen said. "Cycling teams are expected to be professional through and through, while amateurs, semi-professionals, have to perform such bike measurements in a very unprofessional manner. I am simply astonished by everything that went wrong."

The UCI has not commented further on the disqualification when contacted, or released a statement. SD Worx-Protime have gone onto have a successful Giro, with Anna van der Breggen winning stage four's time trial, and holding the race lead ahead of stage five.

Demi Vollering outsprinted her GC rivals to take her first ever stage win in the Giro d'Italia Women on stage five.

The FDJ United-SUEZ rider came in at the head of a four-rider group after a long day in the hills, with maglia rosa Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) second, Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) third and Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) fourth.

Van der Breggen retains the pink jersey.

Vollering said afterwards that the team plans had gone perfectly, but that the 146km from Longarone to Sante Stefano di Cadore had been a long, hard stage.

"I'm very happy to take the victory. It's my first stage in the Giro so it's a nice one," she said.

"It was a really long and hard day. We started racing already very early – we wanted to have some riders from our team in the breakaway and we managed directly with Amber [Kraak] and Lauren [Dickson] like we planned, it was perfect.

"They did such an amazing job that before we came here on the last climb I still had Lauren in front of me. I managed to bridge and she did amazing work on the flat and on the first part of the climb again," she said.

"Maybe I went a little bit too early, so I couldn't make a difference any more on the climb, but it was a really nice day. We really raced with everything we had and it was a real battle out there."

British rider Dickson, riding in her first year with FDJ United-SUEZ, was part of a major move of more than 20 riders that spent much of the day out ahead of the peloton. The 26-year-old was one of the last survivors, waiting for Vollering as the favourites group began to emerge from the peloton as the race approached the finishing circuit. This included two climbs up to Costa (4.3km at 8.6%) and a single pass through the finish before they came back round for the real thing.

Once over the Costa for the first time, the four-woman group that would eventually win the day had emerged fully, with the addition of Liv AlUla Jayco's Monica Trinca Colonel, who attempted to use her descending prowess to form a winning move, but was ultimately caught and tailed off.

A strong looking Vollering did more than her fair share on the front of the quartet on the final climb and, in Sante Stefano di Cadore following the descent, was also the first to jump in the finale – opening a small gap that none of her rivals could close.

Giro d'Italia Women, stage 5: Longarone > Sante Stefano di Cadore, 146km

1. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United-SUEZ, 4:23:47
2. Anna van der Breggen (Ned)
3. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, all s.t.
4. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +2s
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +15s
6. Niamh Fisher-Black (Nzl) Lidl-Trek, at s.t.
7. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +53s
8. Magdeleine Vallieres (Can) EF Education-Oatly
9. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, both s.t.
10. Lore de Schepper (Bel) AG Insurance-Soudal, +56s

General classification after stage 5

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, 15:55:13
2. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez, +1:00
3. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:24
4. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +2:01
5. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +2:03
6. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +2:12
7. Niamh Fisher-Black (Nzl) Lidl-Trek, +2:33
8. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:38
9. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco, +3:21
10. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, +3:26

There are few things that shock me in cycling. I have seen it all, from the controversies to the triumphs, and yet Lorena Wiebes’ disqualification from the Giro d’Italia Women on Saturday did exactly that – it shocked me. Disqualification or relegation are nothing new in the sport, of course, but to be kicked out of a race for having an underweight bike is novel. My colleagues at Cyclingnews reckon it last happened in 2013, also at the women’s Giro, which would be why I don’t remember it, given I was 17.

Hence the general astonishment at Wiebes' being disqualified not just from stage one of the Giro, which she had won, but also the rest of the race. This is unusual. Her agent, André Boskamp, told Wielerflits that “she was a complete mess” when she returned home to the Netherlands, while SD Worx-Protime team manager Erwin Janssen told the Dutch press that legal action was being explored. This is unlikely to be the last we have heard about this.

There are two separate parts to the oddity of Wiebes being disqualified because her bike was a little bit lighter than it should be; her team said it was only 20 grams, although this has not been confirmed. The first is the concerns that the bike was not weighed properly, as alleged by SD Worx-Protime. Clearly, if there were discrepancies between measurements as much as the team say – 50g between different readings – then it feels ridiculous that something as big as disqualification was levied. Also, given that it is such a big punishment, it feels like it’s the kind of thing that one should be absolutely certain on, and this feels a bit muddy.

We haven’t heard from the UCI on how the decision was reached, but with it being the same – or very similar – to the bike that Wiebes has won on eight times this season, it does feel like it should leave the governing body embarrassed as much as the rider and her team. The frame and all the components are approved by the UCI, they’ve been checked and OKed before, so why was it different on Saturday?

Wiebes’ Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 is not just ridden by her, but by her whole team, plus FDJ-Suez United and AG Insurance-Soudal on the Women’s WorldTour, plus Soudal Quick-Step and Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe on the men’s WorldTour. The components might be different, and there has been a suggestion that it might have been through Wiebes using a SRAM Red AXS 1x drivetrain instead of 2x that extra weight was lost. However, we don’t regularly see riders being kicked out of races for having light bikes.

Of course, if the bike was truly under 6.8kg, then Wiebes and her team can have no qualms about her being kicked out of the race, those are the rules. It’s moot whether the weight gave her an advantage or not. But that doesn’t mean that those rules are right.

26 years after the rule was introduced, there has been no update; it is a fixed point in the sand. It is also the same weight for both male and female pro riders, there is no flexibility here for lighter athletes, which is what women tend to be. Everyone has to aim for the same weight limit, no matter their frame size. It’s something Ashleigh Moolman Pasio called out in an article for BikeRadar last year, but this situation has thrown it under the spotlight again.

Riders using smaller frames often have to weigh down their bike to make it past the UCI’s arbitrary threshold, which was introduced to create a level playing field between teams, but has ended up penalising smaller riders.

Once again, it feels like the UCI is slow to adapt and change, which creates odd situations like this, when the fastest woman in the world is kicked out of a race over a rule that most think is outdated. Having already had to U-turn over gearing limits by SRAM, might we see the bike industry push back again?

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.

Anna van der Breggen charged into first place at the Giro d’Italia Women on Tuesday, after winning stage four's time trial over a minute faster than world champion Marlen Reusser.

The SD-Worx Protime rider looked strong from the outset, moving through the intermediate checkpoint as the fastest rider before pushing hard across the finish line in a time of 31.38 (at an average of 24.164 km/h), 1:04 ahead of Movistar's Reusser. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) rounded out the podium 1:10 behind Van der Breggen.

"I hope I'm an example that you need to keep fighting and in the end it will come again," Van der Breggen said after the race. "You are never there in one step. For me, it feels like I've worked really hard these past two years to get to this point. Winning today in this way really means a lot to me."

The 12.7km individual time trial came after an initial three flat stages, posing a brutal fourth stage of the race. The stage kicked off flat before before a 8.2% gradient climb boosted off over 7.4 kilometres. At its steepest, the climb pitched up at 14% before flattening out towards the finish line.

Reusser occupied the hot seat for the second half of the stage, taking hold of the time trial with a time of 32.42, and deposing Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal) in the process. For the bulk of the stage, none came close to toppling the world champion, though an impressive ride from Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco) saw the Italian slot in 27 seconds behind Reusser, having set the fastest intermediate time at the foot of the climb.

Meanwhile, Vollering was charging through the course, passing the intermediate in a faster time than Reusser. But it wasn't enough to topple the Swiss rider. As the course flattened out towards the finish, Vollering pushed hard across the line and into second, six seconds down from Reusser.

But the most impressive performance of the day came from Anna van der Breggen. In the blue mountains jersey, the 36-year-old first bested Colonel’s intermediate time, before continuing on to tuck into a time trial position to mount the final climb and over the finish line as the fastest rider.

After coming out of retirement, the three-time Giro d'Italia winner moves to the top of the GC, as the pink jersey shifts from Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek).

"Getting [the maglia rosa] is one [challenge], then always wearing it is another difficult task, especially with more stages coming up," Van der Breggen said, before gesturing outside. "I mean, It’s started raining now and it will rain in the upcoming stages as well. I know a lot will happen and it will be really hard to defend this jersey; goal one is finished, that deserves a great celebration. To keep the jersey is the next one, but the first is most important, so I’m really proud of that."

Before finishing her interview, Van der Breggen made reference to her absent teammates: Mikayla Harvey, who crashed in yesterday's race, and Lorena Wiebes. "Wearing the pink jersey in the Giro, it’s a dream," she said. "I will enjoy it with Lorena, who is not here. I think she will be really proud, and I’m proud of her."

GIRO D’ITALIA WOMEN: STAGE 4 (ITT), Belluno > Nevegal (12.7km)

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, 31:38
2. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +1:04
3. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez, +1:10
4. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:26
5. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco, +1:31
6. Lauren Dickson (GBr) FDJ United–Suez, +1:38
7. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:39
8. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +1:51
9. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, +1:54
10. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +1:55

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 4

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime, 11:31:32
2. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +1:04
3. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez, +1:10
4. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:26
5. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco, +1:31
6. Lauren Dickson (GBr) FDJ United–Suez, +1:38
7. Femke de Vries (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:39
8. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ, +1:51
9. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, +1:54
10. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +1:55

Elisa Balsamo sprinted to her third successive victory at the Giro d'Italia Women, winning an unpredictable stage 3 by a full bike length in the end on Monday.

The Lidl-Trek rider triumphed after what was shaping up to be a very congested finish in Buja.

Balsamo retains the pink jersey and extends her lead. The American Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) took second place, with Femke Gerritse (SD Worx - Protime) from the Netherlands in third place.

Earlier, attacks from Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) failed to get away. However, 27-year-old Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Uno-X Mobility) mounted a spirited break away from 5km out, opening up a gap of seven seconds, but the Norwegian was caught by the peloton during the final climb to the finish line, and Balsamo timed her sprint to perfection.

"I know this sprint. I did a recon… I was ready," the beaming victor told reporters immediately after the race. "But I was still surprised. I'm just super happy."

"Today was such a hard day. My team did an amazing job, pulling the whole day. I was fighting… I gave it my all. This climb was so hard for me, I tried to fight and stay with small group. It was so hard."

The Italian will go into the fourth day still wearing the maglia rosa, having made it hewr own for the opening three days of the race, but she knows only too well the Time Trial stage tomorrow will result in a very different outcome.

"I am laughing a bit, thinking about tomorrow," she said. "Maybe the GC leaders wanted to try their legs today, to be ready for tomorrow. Because for them it will be a very important day. But from my side, I just want to enjoy this jersey, and tomorrow I will do my best."

Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx–Protime) took Queen of the Mountain honours today, although the Canadian Alison Jackson (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93) took maximum points in first Queen of the Mountains climb of day, and was clearly hunting points.

Along with two Italians, Cristina Tonetti (Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi) and Marta Pavesi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), Jackson was part of a three-rider breakaway that led the peloton for a long period of today's lumpy stage, which featured several uncategorised climbs. The trio were caught on Montenars – the second category climb of the day, which has sections of up to 15% – where the veteran Van der Breggen outclimbed everyone.

British rider Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL) got ahead of the peleton with 13km to go, but she was quickly reeled in. The final 10km was frantic, with multiple attacks being mounted by Movistar riders. Both Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen had a crack too, but with no one willing to work together, the attacks all failed and the stage was set for a potential surprise, with sprinters keeping their powder dry, lurking amid the wheels and waiting for an opportunity.

Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset's solo burst showed promise, and she led deep into the final kilometre, but FDJ United-SUEZ were leading the hunt and right on her heels, and when the road rose up during the final stretch to the line, the Norwegian was overwhelmed. Ultimately, it was a commanding win and a well deserved stage victory for Elisa Balsamo.

RESULTs

GIRO D’ITALIA WOMEN: STAGE 3, BIBIONE > BUJA (156KM)

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek 3:43:43
2. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health
3. Femke Gerritse (Ned) Team SD Worx - Protime
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE ADQ
5. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE ADQ
6. Pfeiffer Georgi (GBr) Picnic PostNL
7. Millie Couzens (GBr) Fenix-Premier Tech
8. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar
9. Célia Gery (Fra) FDJ United-SUEZ
10. Cecilie Ludwig (Den) Canyon-SRAM, all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 3

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek 10:59:24
2. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health, +24s
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +30s
4. Margaux Vigié (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike
5. Célia Gery (Fra) FDJ United-SUEZ
6. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx–Protime
7. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) Lidl - Trek
8. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
9. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United–Suez
10. Lauren Dickson (GBr) FDJ United–Suez, all at same time

SD Worx-Protime have said they are “astonished” that their sprinter, Lorena Wiebes, was found to have been riding an underweight bike on stage one of the Giro d’Italia Women, and disqualified from the race.

The UCI commissaires ruled that Wiebes competed on a bike “non-conforming to minimum weight requirements” on Saturday's stage. According to SD Worx-Protime, her bike - A Specialized Tarmac SL8 equiped with Roval wheels and a SRAM Red groupset - was said to have weighed 6.78kg – 0.02kg under the UCI’s minimum weight requirement of 6.8kg.

The Dutchwoman initially won the bunch sprint into Ravenna, but was expelled from the race hours later, with the jury giving the victory, and the first pink jersey, to Lidl-Trek’s Elisa Balsamo, who crossed the line second.

Later on Saturday evening, SD Worx-Protime released a statement raising “serious questions” of the UCI’s bike-weighing procedure.

“Team SD Worx-Protime is astonished by the decision of the UCI commissaires' panel that Lorena Wiebes' bicycle did not comply with the minimum weight limit after the first stage of the Giro d'Italia Women,” the team said.

“Wiebes has ridden this bicycle on multiple occasions this season, always with the same setup. She achieved numerous victories on this bike. Moreover, earlier this year, the bicycle was weighed by UCI officials after several races in which Wiebes won sprint finishes convincingly.

“On each occasion, the bicycle's weight was found to be comfortably above the 6.8-kilogram limit. The team therefore does not understand how the very same bicycle could now suddenly be measured below the minimum weight requirement.”

SD Worx-Protime went on to say that Wiebes’s disqualification was an “exceptionally severe sanction”.

“In a flat sprint stage, unlike a mountain stage, a small reduction in weight provides virtually no advantage. This is certainly true for a rider like Wiebes, who won the sprint in Ravenna by three bicycle lengths,” the team said.

“Team SD Worx-Protime, a leading team in the women's peloton for the past fifteen years, has no explanation for why Wiebes' bicycle was found to be under the minimum weight on this occasion.”

Wiebes was disqualified under UCI article 2.12.007, rule 2.2, which refers to “use of a bicycle that does not comply with regulations”. UCI rule 1.3.019 stipulates the weight of a bicycle cannot be less than 6.8kg.

As a result of the ruling, the Giro d'Italia Women organiser, RCS, declared Balsamo the stage winner.

“Of course, it is not the way I want to win," Balsamo said, "but this is a decision of the jury. In any case, it’s an honour to wear the maglia rosa and I am looking forward to trying to defend it in tomorrow’s stage."

Update: After being declared the stage winner, Lorena Wiebes was later disqualified from the race for riding an underweight bike. The race commissaires then granted the stage victory to Lidl-Trek's Elisa Balsamo, who will wear the pink jersey on stage two.

Lorena Wiebes was already thinking about how she might win the pink jersey after she took another dominant sprint win in the first stage of the Giro d’Italia Women.

The SD Worx-Protime rider had clear air between her back wheel and second placed Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek).

Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) rounded out the podium in third place.

Wiebes now has six stage wins at the Italian tour on her palmarès.

She’ll wear the pink jersey on stage two to Caorle, where she’s believes she can doubling up at this year’s race.

Speaking to TNT Sports she said: “Hopefully tomorrow is another sprint it would be amazing to win in the maglia rosa.”

She was able to identify some improvements her SD Worx-Protime squad can make. “The team worked really hard all day to control the breakaway. It was a lot of chaos on the final circuit but we expected that,” she said.

“My final lead-out Babara Guarischi came a bit too early but I was able to find my way and was able to sprint. That was the most important thing today.”

Asked why she thought the final, sometimes tight and technical, circuit around Ravenna proved chaotic she said: “I think we did the most work before entering the circuit and it was also the GC teams that wanted to keep their GC leader safe from any crashes. We focused mainly on the last lap, keeping together and timing it well for the finish.”

The circuit at the end of a pan flat 139km held the potential for attacks but with too many teams with sprinters keen to keep things together none materialise within the final 50km.

Fenix-Premier Tech, Lidl-Trek, Movistar, SD Worx-Protime and Uno-X Mobility all took it in turns pulling the peloton around the laps of Ravenna.

As they rounded the final bends Millia Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech) came to the front of the peloton in her effort to lead out team-mate Charlotte Kool, Wiebes’s former team-mate.

However, it was the Sd Worx-Protime rider who jumped onto the British Champion’s wheel and was able to use it to spring off the front of the pack in the finishing straight.

While Balsamo tried valiantly to match Wiebes’s speed she had already created a gap and pulling her back would prove impossible.

ResultGiro d’Italia Women: Stage 1, Cesenatico > Ravenna (139km)

1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:18.22
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek
3. Lara Gilespie (Ire) UAE Team ADQ
4. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon-SRAM
5. Georgia Baker (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco
6. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech
7. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility
8. Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra) AG insurance-Soudal
9. Célia Gery (Fra) FDJ United-Suez
10. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health, all at same time

General Classification after stage 1

1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:18.22
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +0.04
3. Lara Gilespie (Ire) UAE Team ADQ, +0.06
4. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon-SRAM, +0.10
5. Georgia Baker (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco
6. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech
7. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility
8. Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra) AG insurance-Soudal
9. Célia Gery (Fra) FDJ United-Suez
10. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health, all at same time

Every July, the Tour de France acts as a sporting eclipse, soaking up the world's broadcasting hours and media attention. But while the men's race stole the global limelight, a parallel history was being written in Italy.

From 1988, the Giro Donne navigated the Tour's massive shadow to serve as the defining battleground of the women's calendar. For decades, it was the only true Grand Tour for the women's peloton – a race of rich heritage and gruelling climbs that is finally stepping into the sun.

As if fighting for exposure with the biggest annual sporting event on the planet was not enough, in 2022 the Giro Donne – rebranded as the Giro d'Italia Women in 2024 – acquired a new rival. The arrival of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, positioned just three weeks later on the calendar, meant the Italian Grand Tour now had to fight for participants as well as media coverage.

It was high time, then, for the Giro d'Italia Women – for many years the only race on the women's calendar that could be considered a genuine Grand Tour – to step out of the shadow.

GIving the women's Giro Room to breathe

That's precisely what has happened this year: the Giro Women has been moved on the calendar from early July to instead begin as the men's version ends, on Sunday 30 May – the day of a mountainous penultimate stage. The refreshed women's race continues for nine stages until the following Sunday, 7 June.

The new slot falls three weeks after the year's first women's Grand Tour, the Vuelta Femenina, and nearly two months before the Tour Femmes, giving all three events room to breathe.

The brief initial overlap with the men's race is deliberate, says race director Giusy Virelli. By the time the women's opening stage finishes, the men will have already wrapped up their 20th stage to Piancavallo – finishing early to allow them time to fly to Rome for their finale. With the men's race out of the way, the Giro Women has all the space it needs to satisfy what Virelli calls “a craving” among fans for the cycling action in Italy to continue.

“For the following stages, we have, for sure, more space, and I think that we can also satisfy the craving by the fans after the Giro d'Italia,” says Virelli. “In the last days [of the Giro] on social media, you always see some images and posts by the fans, because they say they don't have anything to watch the day after. So now they do.”

In its previous July slot, despite the crossover with the men's Tour de France and proximity to the women's, there were upsides for the Giro d'Italia Women, as race director Giusy Virelli points out: “Overlapping with the men's Tour was a pull for the race for the TV audience,” she says.

“But in the end, it affected a lot of the space that we had on the TV schedule. For example, in Italy, we only had 45 minutes on our national TV. After consideration, we thought that moving the Giro Women to a slot just after the men's, with a partial overlap, was better for the events.”

Making space for TV coverage was not the only consideration for Virelli and her fellow Giro organisers. The new kid on the block – the Tour Femmes – had created a bottleneck that often saw riders choosing between the two.

Last year, for example, the Giro Women finished on 13 July and the Tour Femmes began less than two weeks later, on 26 July. Given the newer race had the history and the pedigree of the Tour de France behind it, it's easy to guess which race usually lost out when riders were forced to pick just one.

However, Virelli is not fazed by the rapid rise of the Tour Femmes against the Giro Women's near-40-year history. She concedes that the Tour name will always attract attention, but clearly believes in her race.

“The Tour de France is the biggest stage race in cycling for men,” she says, “so it's also normal that women aim to be at the start of the Tour de France. [But] I don't think that our race, the routes, the technical aspects of our organisation are less than the Tour... For the riders it is [also] very beautiful to come to Italy to ride – there's also a lot of attraction and passion [for cycling] in the country.”

Alluding to the history of her race – Virelli has been at the helm of the RCS Sport-organised event since 2024 – she calls the Giro Women “a long story”. All the same, she pays homage to the Tour Femmes, saying: “Of course our cousins at [Tour Femmes organiser] ASO are doing a great job. So obviously, you always look at what other organisers – not only ASO – are doing, to find some ideas, some new input.”

Race scheduling stack-up

The Giro Women is not the only stage race to be rehomed on the cycling calendar this year: the Tour Femmes will now begin the weekend after the men's race finishes, with director Marion Rousse declaring: “We no longer need the men's race [for us] to exist.” Meanwhile, the Tour of Britain Women moves from May to August.

This creates a near two-month gap between the two Grand Tours, and while it makes the month of July less densely packed, the women's cycling calendar has come in for criticism for what is now a major May/June pinch point. In little over a month, there are 25 WorldTour racing days.

Then again, as The Cyclists' Alliance point out: “In the second half of the 2026 season, from July to October, there are only 22 race days – 31% of the total – and only 13 possible race days for riders not selected for the Tour de France Femmes.” This led Grace Brown, the president of the riders' union the TCA, to claim that “the sport remains built on fragile foundations”.

The space between the women's Grand Tours – three of the biggest races on the calendar – remains key for teams. UAE Team ADQ directeur sportif Cherie Pridham told us: “I think it's better than it was last year, because we had no time to prepare between the Giro and the Tour, so there's a lot more time for preparation.

It enables you to allow the girls to train and focus properly, particularly if you've got injuries and illnesses.” Even so, she noted the congestion in May and the issues the Giro's move had created:

“The big problem is when we have the Vuelta [Femenina], Itzulia [Women] and [Vuelta a] Burgos, this hurts a lot when you have a team that's going away to prepare for the Giro at altitude, and it does reduce the number of riders if you are hit by illness or injury.”

Which women's Grand Tour is seen as top dog is largely due to the hierarchy inherited from the men, Pridham says, with the Tour first, then the Giro and then the Vuelta. However, when it comes to team focus, those distinctions are evening out.

“I think the Giro is rapidly gaining parity with the Tour,” she says. “From a team's perspective, it allows you to spread your load in terms of your objectives.”

Which race holds the notional Grand Tour crown is not something that will concern the riders once the race is under way on 30 June. Some of the best in the world are taking part – including GC favourites Demi Vollering and Elisa Longo Borghini – and there will be no quarter asked or given in the quest for the pink jersey. And this time, for the first time in many years, it will be in its own space and clear of the shadow of the men's Tour.

The change in date for the women's Giro has resulted in a strong field lining up for the nine days of racing. Starting eight weeks before the women's Tour means there is now plenty of time to recover from one and mount a challenge in the second, as Demi Vollering plans to do this year.

While the Dutchwoman starts as favourite she'll be up agains compatriot and former coach Anna van der Breggen and reigning champion Elisa Longo Borghini.

On the flat stages it's hard to see past Lorena Wiebes while young Brit Cat Ferguson will hope to contest the punchier stages that aren't hard enough to bring out the GC contenders.

Read More: Giro d'Italia Women 2026 | Giro d'Italia Women 2026 start list

Demi Vollering
29 | FDJ United-SUEZ | Ned
Previous Giro starts: 2
Best GC result: 3rd (2021)
Best stage result: 2nd (x3, 2021)

Demi Vollering has made no secret of the intense focus she has placed on the Italian Grand Tour this year – as well as the Tour de France Femmes in August – with the revised calendar being a key driver.

“Of course, the new place in the calendar influenced my decision,” Vollering said on the Giro Women website. “It works much better alongside the Tour, so it’s possible to aim for strong performances in both races.

"Coming back to the Giro felt like a natural choice," she added. "It’s a race with a great history and I’m happy to have it back in my programme.”

The Dutch rider has enjoyed a superb start to the season this year – perhaps her best ever. With victories in four Classics, including two Monuments (Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège) as well as stages and the GC at Setmana Volta Valenciana back in February, she has won more times than not in her 10 race days so far.

Both of her Monument victories were solo efforts, with a particularly impressive performance at Liège-Bastogne-Liège that saw her attack with 34km to go and hold off the combined efforts of Puck Pieterse, Kasia Niewiadoma and Anna van der Breggen to win by a minute and-a-half.

The 29-year-old is an all-rounder in the mould of now-retired Annemiek van Vleuten: a powerful engine complemented by a world-beating climbing ability. It makes her an indomitable force in races like the Giro d'Italia.

Unsurprisingly, Vollering opted to miss the very recent Vuelta Femenina and her most recent Strava activities suggest she is preparing for the race with a mountains training camp in Spain's Sierra Nevada.

She has won the Vuelta twice and the Tour Femmes once already, and will be mimicking Jonas Vingegaard in his attempt to add the Giro to his palmarès, thus securing career wins in all three Grand Tours. Unlike Vingegaard, Vollering has ridden the Italian race before, finishing third back in 2021. She will hope to better that result this year – anything but a win, in fact, will be a disappointment.

Marlen Reusser
34 | Movistar | Swi
Previous Giro starts: 3
Best GC result: 2nd (2025)
Best stage result: 1st (2025)

This is set to be the first race for the Swiss rider since she crashed hard at the Tour of Flanders, fracturing a vertebra in her lower back. That was six weeks ago, and though there has been little word from her since, she has been pictured on her own Instagram account riding a new – and heavily disguised – Canyon time trial bike.

Her Flanders crash was the latest set-back in an early season she would probably rather forget. She was also forced to abandon the UAE Tour in early February after suffering hand and knee lacerations in a crash.

Second here last year and twice GC runner-up at the Vuelta Femenina, Reusser would usually be one of the top favourites for a race like the Giro Women. But her recent injury may well see her relegated her to wildcard status at most.

Elisa Longo Borghini
34 | UAE Team ADQ | Italy
Previous Giro starts: 7
Best GC result: 1st (2024, 2025)
Best stage result: 3x1st (2020, 2023, 2024)

The home favourite and defending champion will go into this year’s race looking for a third Giro win on the bounce, and you’d be brave to bet against her. After winning the UAE Tour (again) in February, the 34-year-old Italian champion has had an illness-impacted 2026, missing Milan-San Remo altogether, finishing well down the field at Dwars Door Vlaanderen (which she won in 2025) and placing a disappointing eighth at the Tour of Flanders.

Now back in rude health, the super experienced rider and double-Olympic medal winner, who is capable of attacking and defending in equal measure, will push race-favourite Demi Vollering all the way. Borghini wore the Maglia Rosa for the entire race in 2024, and last year became only the second female Italian rider (after legendary five-time winner Fabiana Luperini) to win the Giro more than once – she knows this grand tour inside out, and a third consecutive victory is very possible.

Marion Bunel
21 | Visma-Lease a Bike | France
Previous Giro starts: 0
Best GC result: n/a
Best stage result: n/a

After coming second overall in last month’s Vuelta Femenina, Marion Bunel has confirmed herself as a rider to watch. The young French climber stood alongside Paula Blasi and Anna van der Breggen on the fearsome Angliru having finished the Spanish race as the best young rider; and should be considered a serious threat going into the Giro Donne.

La Vuelta followed Bunel’s now-established form. In the Tour of Catalonia, the 21-year-old finished just 30 seconds behind overall GC champion, Demi Vollering, on the Queen Stage after winning the Tour de l’Avenir a year before in a smattering of mountain breakaways.

A dominant climber, Bunel only graduated from the Continental ranks at the start of 2025, and has also proved herself a rider capable of attacking across multiple days of riding. One of the wave of young riders touted to shake up the established order, Bunel will line up at the Giro fresh from a string of podium finishes.

Lorena Wiebes
27 | SD Worx-Protime | Ned
Previous Giro starts: 3
Best GC result: 48th (2021)
Best stage result: 1st (x5, 2021,23,25)

It won't be lost on her rivals that Lorena Wiebes has morphed from a very strong fast finisher to a very strong fast finishing rouleur. As such she goes into the Giro d'Italia Women not just as favourite for the three flat stages (one, two and six), but also as a real danger for one or two of the hillier stages.

She has been a world-beater for some time now, as her Giro d'Italia results above illustrate. She has won stages in each of her three participations, and it would be a surprise to walk away empty-handed this time round. Whether she will reprise her points classification win from last year remains to be seen.

So far this season she has won 50% of her 16 race days, as well as registering some high placings in the Classics. She has never worn the maglia rosa before, but with a flat stage to start off, this could well be her year.

Anna van der Breggen
36 | SD Worx-Protime | Ned
Previous Giro starts: 13
Best GC result: 1st (x4 2015, 17, 20, 21)
Best stage result: 1st (x2, 2019, 21)

Anna van der Breggen has done something her former protégé Demi Vollering has never managed to do – win the Giro d’Italia. Not just once, however, but four times, putting her joint-second overall with her great rival Annemiek van Vleuten for GC crowns. The last time was in 2021, though, before her three year ‘retirement’ which then got reversed.

The Dutchwoman was second at the recent Vuelta España Femenina, proving that she is in good form, but also beatable on the toughest mountain stages. Has the potential to be Vollering’s biggest threat, but will also be part of an SD Worx team with a split strategy, given the presence of Lorena Wiebes. Van der Breggen was sixth at last year’s Giro, and will hope to be higher up the top 10 this season, perhaps even on the podium. As a multiple time trial world champion, stage four’s individual TT could be the day her overall challenge is built on.

Cat Ferguson
20 | Movistar | GBr
Previous Giro starts: 0
Best GC result: n/a
Best stage result: n/a

The British phenomenon makes her debut at the Giro, on a stage-hunting brief. Ferguson has only raced one Grand Tour to date, last year’s Vuelta, so everything is still pretty new, but the 20-year-old has risen to every challenge thrown at her to date.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly earlier this year, Ferguson said: “My personal goal is to look for stages. The Giro is hard, but then there are a lot of opportunities for the sprints. I’ll be trying to do my best in the sprint stages.” According to her, the Vuelta last year was a “baptism of fire”: “It’s 10 days of carb loading, and it’s very different to a junior stage race.

If you don’t manage to get that pasta down you at dinner, then the next day you really feel it.” If she can manage the chaos of nine stages, there are sprint and punchy opportunities through the nine days.

Elisa Balsamo
28, Lidl-Trek, Ita
Previous Giro starts: 2
Best GC result: 49th (2022)
Best stage result: 1st (x2 2022)

Perhaps surprisingly for one of the best Italian riders of her generation, Elisa Balsamo has only ridden her home Grand Tour twice, but hasn’t missed an edition of the Tour de France Femmes.

Perhaps that points to priorities, but the new slow for the Giro in the schedule allows for the Piedmontese rider to tackle roads familiar to her. Like the rest of her Lidl-Trek team, Balsamo has struggled for wins in 2026, but one is surely on the horizon, with a string of solid results.

Two second places, including at the Ronde van Brugge, and third place at Scheldeprijs shows that the sprinter is ready. Her problem, however, is that there is a woman faster than everyone in the peloton, and she’s riding the Giro: Lorena Wiebes. No-one is unbeatable, though, and on the punchier days, it is plausible that Balsamo might have the edge, this is a rider who has won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda thrice, after all.

Elisa Longo Borghini returns to Italy looking to win her third consecutive Giro title, but will face the best field since last year's Tour de France Femme. World number one Demi Vollering (FDJ United Suez) will be on the start line in Cesenatico on the west coast of the country, and has gone public with her aim of winning the Giro Tour double in 2026.

SD Worx Protime will line up behind four-time winner Anna van der Breggen for the Giro Women. The Dutch rider first won in 2015, and from 2017 onwards swapped wins with compatriot, although never a team mate, Annemiek van Vleuten.

Visma Lease a bike is lead by young French rider. The 21-year-old climber finished third at the Vuelta earlier in May and gets teh chance to lead in the absence of Pauline Ferrand Prevot who will head to the Tour de France Femmes to defend her title.

21 teams of seven riders start the race to make a peloton of 147 riders contesting the race.

Read more: Giro d'Italia Women 2026 | Giro d'Italia Women contenders

Giro d'Italia Women 2026 full start list

AG Insurance-Soudal
1 Mireia Benito (Esp)
2 Lore De Schepper (Bel)
3 Justine Ghekiere (Bel)
4 Ilse Pluimers (Ned)
5 Julie Van De Velde (Bel)
6 Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra)
7 Urška Žigart (Slo)

Aromitalia Vaiano
11 Irene Affolati (Ita)
12 Fanny Bonini (Ita)
13 Maya Kingma (Ned)
14 Eleonora La Bella (Ita)
15 Argiro Milaki (Gre)
16 Valentina Venerucci (Smr)
17 Petra Zsankó (Hun)

Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
21 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den)
22 Chiara Consonni (Ita)
23 Justyna Czapla (Ger)
24 Anastasiya Kolesava (Blr)
25 Antonia Niedermaier (Ger)
26 Soraya Paladin (Ita)
27 Maike Van Der Duin (Ned)

EF Education-Oatly
31 Magdeleine Vallieres (Can)
32 Nina Berton (Lux)
33 Kristen Faulkner (USA)
34 Stina Kagevi (Swe)
35 Mirre Knaven (Ned)
36 Alexis Magner (USA)
37 Alexandra Volstad (Can)

FDJ United-SUEZ
41 Demi Vollering (Ned)
42 Elise Chabbey (Sui)
43 Lauren Dickson (Gbr)
44 Vittoria Guazzini (Ita)
45 Amber Kraak (Ned)
46 Eva Van Agt (Ned)
47 Ally Wollaston (Nzl)

Fenix-Premier Tech
51 Millie Couzens (Gbr)
52 Mylène De Zoete (Ned)
53 Charlotte Kool (Ned)
54 Evy Kuijpers (Ned)
55 Flora Perkins (Gbr)
56 Christina Schweinberger (Aut)
57 Marthe Truyen (Bel)

Human Powered Health
61 Barbara Malcotti (Ita)
62 Nina Buijsman (Ned)
63 Maggie Coles-Lyster (Can)
64 Thalita De Jong (Ned)
65 Carlotta Cipressi (Ita)
66 Marit Raaijmakers (Ned)
67 Lily Williams (USA)

Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria
71 Anita Baima (Ita)
72 Giulia Bisso (Ita)
73 Lara Crestanello (Ita)
74 Valeria Curnis (Ita)
75 Chantal Pegolo (Ita)
76 Martina Silvestri (Ita)
77 Valentina Zanzi (Ita)

Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi
81 Naia Amondarain (Esp)
82 Alice Maria Arzuffi (Ita)
83 Yuliia Biriukova (Ukr)
84 Sara Fiorin (Ita)
85 Tiril Jørgensen (Nor)
86 Cristina Tonetti (Ita)
87 Marjolein Van 't Geloof (Ned)

Lidl-Trek
91 Niamh Fisher-Black (Nzl)
92 Elisa Balsamo (Ita)
93 Shirin Van Anrooij (Ned)
94 Lucinda Brand (Ned)
95 Isabella Holmgren (Can)
96 Fleur Moors (Bel)
97 Amanda Spratt (Aus)

Liv-AlUla-Jayco
101 Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita)
102 Caroline Andersson (Swe)
103 Georgia Baker (Aus)
104 Nadia Gontova (Can)
105 Silke Smulders (Ned)
106 Quinty Ton (Ned)
107 Matilde Vitillo (Ita)

Movistar
111 Marlen Reusser (Sui)
112 Francesca Barale (Ita)
113 Aude Biannic (Fra)
114 Cat Ferguson (Gbr)
115 Ana Vitória Magalhães (Bra)
116 Mareille Meijer (Ned)
117 Arlenis Sierra (Cub)

St Michel-Preference-Auber93
121 Clara Emond (Can)
122 Alicia González (Esp)
123 Émilie Morier (Fra)
124 Alison Jackson (Can)
125 Karolina Kumięga (Pol)
126 Solène Muller (Fra)
127 Caroline Wreszin (Fra)

Mendelspeck E-Work
131 Camilla Bezzone (Ita)
132 Eleonora Deotto (Ita)
133 Giulia Giuliani (Ita)
134 Ilaria Marinetto (Ita)
135 Katelyn Nicholson (Can)
136 Sara Segala (Ita)
137 Giorgia Serena (Ita)

Picnic PostNL
141 Rachele Barbieri (Ita)
142 Robyn Clay (Gbr)
143 Josie Nelson (Gbr)
144 Pfeiffer Georgi (Gbr)
145 Mara Roldan (Col)
146 Becky Storrie (Gbr)
147 Gaia Masetti (Ita)

SD Worx-Protime
151 Anna Van Der Breggen (Ned)
152 Elena Cecchini (Ita)
153 Femke Gerritse (Ned)
154 Barbara Guarischi (Ita)
155 Valentina Cavallar (Aut)
156 Mikayla Harvey (Nzl)
157 Lorena Wiebes (Ned)

Visma-Lease a Bike
161 Marion Bunel (Fra)
162 Viktória Chladoňová (Svk)
163 Femke De Vries (Ned)
164 Daniek Hengeveld (Ned)
165 Rosita Reijnhout (Ned)
166 Nienke Veenhoven (Ned)
167 Margaux Vigie (Fra)

Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
171 Virginia Bortoli (Ita)
172 Monica Castagna (Ita)
173 Elisa De Vallier (Ita)
174 Sara Luccon (Ita)
175 Marta Pavesi (Ita)
176 Chiara Reghini (Ita)
177 Sharon Spimi (Ita)

UAE Team ADQ
181 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita)
182 Alena Amialiusik (Blr)
183 Mavi García (Esp)
184 Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini (Ita)
185 Lara Gillespie (Irl)
186 Erica Magnaldi (Ita)
187 Silvia Persico (Ita)

Uno-X Mobility
191 Susanne Andersen (Nor)
192 Teuntje Beekhuis (Ned)
193 Marte Berg Edseth (Nor)
194 Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Nor)
195 Mie Bjørndal Ottestad (Nor)
196 Alessia Vigilia (Ita)
197 Linda Zanetti (Sui)

Vini Fantini-BePink
201 Gaia Segato (Ita)
202 Andrea Casagranda (Ita)
203 Marina Garau (Ita)
204 Vittoria Grassi (Ita)
205 Nora Jenčušová (Svk)
206 Silvia Milesi (Ita)
207 Elisa Valtulini (Ita)

British rider Cat Ferguson will make her Giro d’Italia Women debut this weekend with her sights on taking first Grand Tour stage victory in the sprint finishes.

The 20-year-old, now in her second year with Movistar, will lead the Spanish team on the flat days, while her team-mate Marlen Reusser targets the general classification.

Held over nine stages, the race will be the longest of Ferguson’s young career. She made her Grand Tour debut at the seven-day Vuelta Femenina last May, where she scored two top-10 finishes.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, the former double junior world champion said her personal goal for her Giro debut is to “look for stages”.

“The Giro is hard, but then there are a lot of opportunities for sprints. I will be trying to do my best on the sprint stages,” she said.

The first of those days is expected to come on stage one into Ravenna, with stages two and six also both likely to end in sprints. Ferguson will face competition in the bunch from the most dominant sprinter of her era, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), as well as former world champion Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek), Ally Wollaston (FDJ United-SUEZ) and Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto)

In preparation for the Giro, Ferguson has spent the past month training out of Andorra, “focusing on the basics,” she said.

She will also take her learnings from last year’s Vuelta Femenina into the race, in particular regarding fuelling for longer stage races, which she found to be a “baptism of fire”. “It’s not just a one-day race, it’s 10 days of carb-loading, and it’s very different to a junior stage race,” she said. “If you don’t manage to get that pasta down you at dinner, then the next day you really feel it.”

Ferguson opened 2026 with victory in the Spanish one-day Trofeo Llucmajor. She then went on to win a stage of the Setmana Valenciana, before finishing fourth at Omloop Nieuwsblad, her best-ever result in a cobbled Classic.

The rest of Ferguson's early season campaign, she said, brought “real disappointments”; she abandoned Paris-Roubaix after suffering from food poisoning, and “wanted a bit more” than her 21st place at In Flanders Fields-In Wevelgem.

“The Classics are just something else, and that’s what I’m continuing to learn,” she said. “Even having more of a physical ability doesn’t mean that it’s going to go right. I think a lot of the Classics is just positioning, and that’s something I’ve still not cracked.”

Following her Roubaix withdrawal, the 20-year-old returned to winning form at the Navarra Classic earlier this month, where she tallied her third victory of the year.

She now hopes she can continue that form into the Giro, and onwards to August’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Ferguson is yet to make her Tour debut, but is on Movistar’s long list for the race this year.

“It will be [dependent on] how I’m going around the Tour,” she said. “If anything happens between now and then, if I’m injured or something, that’s why we have this long list. All the team on the long list will do altitude with the team, and then from then we get selected.

“I think it’s a good system. It makes us hungry, and it makes us more competitive in a healthy way, so we can be the best team and the fairest team that goes to the Tour.”

The Giro d’Italia Women begins this Saturday 30 May in Cesenatico, and runs until its finish in Saluzzo on 7 June. You can find a full preview of the race in this week’s Cycling Weekly magazine, out now.

The Giro d'Italia Women 2026 will include two summit finishes including a finish up Sestriere after the Colle delle Finestre.

The nine-stage route, one more than 2025, will stretch out across a total of 1,153.7km, all in the north of Italy. The peloton will tackle 12,5000m of elevation over the uphill time trial, three flat stages, three hilly stages and two tougher mountains days.

The Giro has now moved so as not to clash with the men's Tour de France, which should benefit it enormously. Formerly known as the Giro Donne and the Giro Rosa, the race will begin in Cesenatico on 30 May with a sprint finish in Ravenna.

Stage two will also likely be a sprint, on a stage from Roncade H-Farm to Caorle, before stage three is a hillier affair, from Bibione to Buja.

The general classification will be rocked by an uphill time trial from Belluno up to Nevegal; at just 12.7km it might not sound too dangerous, but there are ramps up to 14% and a 4km section at over 10%.

It's more climbing on stage five, with four categorised climbs in the Dolomites from Langarone to Santo Stefano di Cadore, before stage six brings respite with a very flat day, 155km from Ala to Brescello.

Stage seven – Sorbolo Mezzani to Salice Terme – is the longest stage of the race at 165km, with hills awaiting, but it is stage eight that is the big one. It is only 101km long, but the stage from Rivoli to Sestriere apes the famous finish from this year's men's race. The Colle delle Finestre and its gravel lies in wait before the finish to Sestriere itself.

A final day from Saluzzo to Saluzzo could spring a surprise, with three climbs in quick succession.

Giro d'Italia Women 2026 Map

Giro d'Italia Women 2026 stage list

Giro d'Italia Women 2026 stage-by-stage summary

Stage one: Cesenatico > Ravenna

Saturday May 30 | 139km | Flat

The seaside town of Cesenatico that hosts the 2026 Grande Partenza is immortalised in the cycling world as the birthplace of Marco Pantani, but the organisers have hardly paid homage to ‘Il Pirata’ with this route design, which is the polar opposite of the kind he would have relished. The parcours is as flat as the Piadina Romagnola flatbread found everywhere in this region, and a bunch sprint seems inevitable.

Today also makes history as the first ever May stage of the Giro d’Italia Donne following this year’s calendar change, and temperatures tend to be a little cooler at this time of year. Rainfall is still unlikely though, which is just as well as Ravenna is a historic town (famous for its mosaic art), and as such there are some narrow, technical roads to be negotiated through in the 22.9km finishing circuit.

Stage two: Roncade H-Farm > Caorle

Sunday May 31 | 146km | Flat

A transfer north brings the race to the Veneto region, where much of this Giro takes place, for a start in the small town of Roncade. From there the riders head inland before reaching the small category-four Ca’ del Poggio, but that climb will serve only to determine the first Queen of the Mountains maglia azzurra wearer, as it’s the sole obstacle of the day before they head back towards the Adriatic coast for a finish in the fishing town of Caorle, which will surely host another sprint.

Positioning will be key on the run-in to the finish, as there are four 90-degree turns in the final two kilometres; particularly the last one, a narrow pinch-point the peloton must squeeze through before the road widens into a tree-lined 600m boulevard finishing straight.

Stage three: Bibione > Buja

Monday June 1 | 154km | Hilly

Though it starts in much the same vein as opening weekend stages, with a flat procession though the Friulian plain upon departing from the Bibione seaside resort, stage three gets complicated in its second half as the terrain starts to undulate. Hardest of all is the 1km wall of Monteras, which, with its 12% slopes, is steep enough for puncheurs to launch attacks in search of both the stage win and a shot at taking the maglia rosa.

Even if the sprinters’ teams do manage to control the race and bring back any attackers in the final 21km run-in to the finish, it won’t be a stage for a purist in the mould of Jonathan Milan (whose father, Flavio, founded the local amateur Jam’s Bike Team Buja), but rather a versatile type like Lorena Wiebes or Marianne Vos, as the final 300 metres averages more than 5%.

Stage four: Belluno > Nevegal

Tuesday June 2 | 12.7km | Mountain Time Trial

It’s the time trial stage, but far from the pan-flat offerings the organisers have designed for each of the previous four editions, this time the riders get sent up the climb to Nevegal after just 5km. And it's a proper mountain, too, the first category-one test of the race with a tough average gradient of 8.2% for its 7.2km duration, and known as the Terrace of the Dolomites for the panoramic views it provides of the mountain range.

Worse still, its gradients fluctuate uncomfortably from a maximum of 14% towards the bottom to a plateau near the top, making it devilishly difficult for the riders to pace themselves efficiently. The first proper GC sort-out of the race, it should be as much a test of astuteness as it is climbing power.

Stage five: Longarone > Sante Stefano di Cadore

Wednesday June 3 | 138km | Mountains

We’re in the Dolomites, the sublime mountain range that is arguably the emblematic image of the Giro d’Italia, for a spectacle of climbing. The action starts with the relentless 8km slog up the Passo Tre Croci, that barely wavers from its average gradient of 7.2%, continues on the 8.3km Passo di Sant Antonio, which averages 7.5% and features a horrible 4km stretch of 10%, and climaxes with a double ascent of the shorter but even steeper (9%) Costa.

Sure to be greatly impactful on the GC, its intriguing design makes it difficult to strategise for. Should the superior climbers go hard on one of the first two climbs, or wait until Costa? Either way, this stage is tough enough that even the 16km from the top of the last to the finish in Sante Stefano di Cadore won’t blunt its impact.

Stage six: Ala > Brescello

Thursday June 4 | 155km | Flat

Known as the ‘City of Velvet’ after the industry in which it flourished during the 17th and 18th century, the town of Ala lies under the ominous shadow of the Alps. But rather than venture back into the mountains, the riders will instead head south through the planes of the Po Valley for a mercifully flat stage. While breakaways can be harder to control this deep into a stage race, with depleted and tiring rosters not able to chase quite as powerfully as the opening stages, a bunch sprint finish is odds on.

Brescello is such a quintessential small Italian town that it was chosen as the filming location for the satirical rural films Don Camillo and Pennone, about a bickering parish priest and communist mayor, and its small, narrow streets will make for a twisty, technical finish with several tight corners in the final kilometre.

Stage seven: Sorbolo Mezzani > Salice Terme

Friday June 5 | 159km | Hilly

The calm before the storm. The riders head westwards through the Po Valley and towards the Alps on the Italian/French border, but stop short of reaching them just yet with a finish at the Lombard town Salice Terme. They will graze the foothills of the Apennine mountains, however, with a single climb up the Pietragavina 27km from the finish that prevents this from being another flat procession.

Will the Pietragavina be enough to deny the sprinters? Its vital statistics don’t look too hard, averaging a modest 3.2% for 7km, but what that doesn’t account for is how the road rises steadily for about 30km even before they reach its official start. The fact the run-in to the finish is all downhill will also play in the favour of any stage-hunters who try an attack on this climb.

Stage eight: Rivoli > Sestriere

Saturday June 6| 139km | Mountains

Following l’Angliru at the recent Vuelta Femenina, and Ventoux at the upcoming Tour de France Femmes, Colle delle Finestre today becomes the latest iconic mountain taken on by the women’s peloton, and it’s worthy of being mentioned in the same bracket as those legendary summits. Its horrible gradient of 9.2% is steeper than Ventoux, and continues that way seemingly endlessly, at 18.5km considerably longer than the Angliru, and half of it up a rough, unpaved gravel track.

With the descent of the mountain followed by a final, easier climb to Sestriere, this is a repeat of the sensational penultimate stage of last year’s men’s Giro, when Simon Yates capitalised on a stand-off between Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz to fly away and take the maglia rosa. On a mountain as monstrous as this, the race could be turned on its head in a similarly dramatic fashion.

Stage nine: Saluzzo > Saluzzo

Sunday June 7 | 143km | Mountains

The final climbing test of the Giro is a much subtler, nuanced affair than yesterday’s uncomplicated slog up Colle delle Finestre. The punishing 9.4% average gradient of Monttoso is comparable to the Finestre, albeit lasting a shorter 8.9km, but it’s over and done with early on, with 88km still to ride until returning to Saluzzo for the finish. The two climbs that follow, Colletta di Paesana and Colletta di Brondello are better described as hills.

An attack on the Monttoso would therefore be very bold, so perhaps the smart ploy is to wait for Colletta di Brondello, which, averaging 8% for its final 5km, is still potentially hard enough for an attacker making a move for the pink jersey to gain enough of an advantage, even if there are 35km of mostly downhill roads between its summit and the finish line.

Liane Lippert rode to a final stage win at this year’s Giro d’Italia Women after a thrilling day which saw Elisa Longo Borghini claim a well-fought general classification.

The Movistar rider held out against former four-time victor Anna van der Breggen to take the stage.

Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) rode well throughout the day to defend her title by 18 seconds in the General Classification.

After Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) took a sterling victory on the penultimate stage of the Giro, powering away from maglia rosa Longo Borghini with 3km to go, the final day was set for anything to happen.

Longo Borghini entered the day with a strong advantage of 22 seconds over Movistar’s Marlen Reusser, but with such a difficult day on the bike, including eight categorised climbs, it was not going to be a walk in the park for the maglia rosa.

After sealing the General Classification, Longo Borghini said: "It's been an incredible journey with UAE Team ADQ. It's been eight days of completely full gas, we created actions, we believed every single day, and we stayed humble.

"And I can’t be much more thankful to my teammates than now, because if I wear this jersey now, it’s because of them. They were super committed, they were never surrendering, and I’m just speechless."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The action of the final day of racing really kicked off when Lorena Wiebes asserted her presence in the race with a break at 106km to go.

A short while after, the Dutch rider was joined by Lea Curinier (FDJ-SUEZ) and Sara Casasola (Fenix-Deceuninck), who maintained their place at the front for the majority of the race.

With 67km to go, Lidl Trek’s Amanda Spratt and Wiebes’s SD Worx-Protime teammate Mikayla Harvey attacked to bridge the gap between the peloton and the breakaway.

After 16km of chasing, Spratt and Harvey finally bridged across and joined the leading three riders, with the peloton sitting roughly a minute behind.

With 48km to go and ahead of the 4th cat climb, Wiebes continued to inject pace into the leading pack, extending the lead of the group, but behind, Movistar were in control.

The climbs proved difficult for sprinter Wiebes, who was briefly dropped on the approach to the summit of cat 4 climb Mazzolano, and her time at the front was seemingly over. And yet, the Dutch rider fought back to stay within the leading pack.

Despite the wind, the breakaway continued as a five to extend the gap to almost a minute ahead of the next climb.

At 39km to go and at the middle stage of the third trip up the Cima Gallisterna (which had a maximum gradient of 14%), the lead of the breakaway crumbled as Wiebes was dropped on the steep climb.

As they entered their penultimate trip around the Imola circuit, the lead pack (with Wiebes' teammate Harvey still involved) regained a strong advantage over the peloton, who had now become strung out, with Movistar aiming to limit the breakaway's chances to survive.

With 23.3km to go, on the uncategorised climb, Wiebes’ tough day on the bike went from bad to worse as she was dropped by the peloton, ending the Dutch rider’s hopes to secure a third stage victory this Giro.

Curinier made a move at 22km remaining, splitting the breakaway as firstly Casasola was left in the dust, before the final trip up the decisive Mazzolano saw Spratt also fall back into the peloton.

Harvey and Curinier managed to keep a gap with the chasers as they quickly returned to a trio, as a dominant Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) joined the front of the race, pushing the pace and bringing the gap to 17 seconds.

Numerous attempts were made to join the front of the race as Lidl-Trek’s Shirin van Anrooij’s attack was neutralised, and Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike) time in the breakaway was short-lived.

Soon enough Smulders was riding solo, having left Harvey and Curinier in her tracks on the final climb of the day, managing to hold off the charging pack.

Smulders was eventually caught by a select group of riders including the maglia rosa, Harvey, and Gigante.

But the final day on the roads of Italy went down to the wire as four-time Tour victor Van der Breggen attacked, with Lippert following suit with only 2km to go.

As they entered the Imola circuit for the final time the duo had a strong gap with the chasing group leading them to a final sprint between the two of them.

It was a battle of nerve, and Lippert proved the stronger on the day as she took the stage win, beating van der Breggen on the line.

Reusser led the chasing pack to round out the podium as the maglia rosa followed on her wheel.

RESULTS

GIRO D’ITALIA WOMEN, STAGE 8, Forlì > Imola (134KM)

1. Liane Lippert (Ger) Movistar, in 3:40:07
2. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, at same time
3. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +8s
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
5. Évita Muzic (Fra) FDJ-SUEZ
6. Isabella Holmgrem (Can) Lidl-Trek
7. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck
8. Silke Smulders (Ned) (Liv AlUla Jayco)
9. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
10. Sarah Gigante (Aus) AG Insurance-Soudal, all at the same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 8

1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, in 24:37:03
2. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +18s
3. Sarah Gigante (Aus) AG Insurance-Soudal, +1:11
4. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, +2:55
5. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto, +3:07
6. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +3:32
7. Isabella Holmgren (Can) Lidl-Trek, +3:54
8. Barbara Malcotti (Ita) Human Powered Health, +4:44
9. Urška Žigart (Slo) AG Insurance-Soudal, +4:56
10. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Uno-X Mobility, +5:19

World champion Lotte Kopecky abandoned the Giro d'Italia Women ahead of stage six in order to recover for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The SD Worx-Protime rider reportedly has lower back pain, but her team remain confident that she will be back to her best for the Tour, which begins on 26 July in Vannes.

The 29-year-old, who finished second at the Giro last year, lost time on the two mountain stages so far at this race, stage two to Aprica and stage four to Pianezze. This under-performance was due to that back issue, her team said.

“Lotte has pain in her lower back; that’s why things didn’t go as they should on the climbs. Under these circumstances, there was little point in going all-out on the finishing climb, and Lotte chose to take it easy," SD Worx sports director Danny Stam told Het Laatste Nieuws on Wednesday.

"Lotte Kopecky will not start tomorrow's sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia Women. The world champion is still experiencing some discomfort in her lower back. As a precaution ahead of the Tour de France Femmes, she is leaving the Giro d'Italia Women to take three to four days of complete rest," her team said in a statement on Thursday evening.

"According to the medical staff of Team SD Worx–Protime, the discomfort in her lower back should heal completely with a few days of rest. She will then be able to resume her preparations for the Tour de France Femmes as planned."

Kopecky had come into this race with the focus squarely on the Tour later this summer, which has been her big goal all season. The world champion has only won twice so far this year, at the Tour of Flanders and the Belgian national time trial championships.

"Kopecky will ride the Giro d’Italia in preparation for the Tour de France Femmes. The overall classification in France is her main goal," Stam said pre-race.

However, the Belgian has come close to results in this Giro, finishing second on the opening time trial, third behind teammate Lorena Wiebes on stage three, and fourth behind Wiebes on stage five.

SD Worx's Anna van der Breggen moved up to third overall on Thursday, 1:53 behind race leader Marlen Reusser (Movistar), ahead of three more hard stages in Italy.

Britain's Anna Henderson powered to victory on stage two of the Giro d'Italia Women in Aprica on Monday, taking the pink jersey and race lead as a result.

The Lidl-Trek rider out-sprinted fellow breakaway rider, Dilyxine Miermont of Ceratizit Pro Cycling after the pair escaped with 40km to go on the stage, which finished on a category three climb.

An unpredictable race from the start, the peloton had cruised as a cohesive group until Henderson and Miermont's attack at 40km to the finish. Later splits saw other riders lose time.

Not only did the pair stay away, but Henderson's win and bonus seconds saw her take the race lead from Marlen Reusser (Movistar), who finished just under 30 seconds behind. World champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) separately lost time on the race favourites.

"Pink is my favourite colour!" Henderson shouted as she discovered she was in the race lead. The 26-year-old is also now the leader in the QOM and points competitions.

“As a team we made a plan to be aggressive this morning because we knew it would be a hard final and we knew we had a really good team for attacking," a breathless Henderson said after the race.

"We’re here for stages and this is what we came to do and I'm so thankful to my teammates for supporting me in the breakaway. I took the opportunity when I saw it and I can’t believe it came off!”

Henderson will enter the third stage of the Giro d'Italia not only wearing the pink jersey of the overall leader, but also as the race's first Queen of the Mountain's jersey too. Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto's Antonia Niedermaier will wear the white jersey.

How it happened

After stage one’s time trial, Monday’s race was the first chance riders had to battle for a stage win on the road - and the course promised unpredictable, volatile racing from the outset.

Beginning on the flat roads out of Clusone, riders were quickly into a short descent, but the real margins were to be made on the long drag uphill towards the ski-town of Aprica, with an average gradient of 3% throughout.

The peloton stuck close together for the first half of the race, pulling away at times to snake along the course before gathering again. It looked to be a race of attrition, with riders biding their time before the steady climb to come.

Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) made her first attack at 45 km to go, a move quickly neutralised as the peloton hit a steady 50km per hour. The peloton here began to break, with Dilyxine Miermont (Ceratizit Pro Cycling) putting a minute behind Henderson and the peloton before the pair joined up to lead the race at 40 km to the finish.

Working together, the pair alternated second-wheel positions, conserving energy whilst maintaining a steady speed at the head of the race. The second stage soon teased a winner as the riders moved towards the category 3 climb, with Henderson at the top of the virtual classification.

As the peloton approached the climb, tension grew in the group, with a crash for UAE Team ADQ and EF Education-Oatly at the back of the peloton (another in a series of crashes in this stage). Meanwhile, Henderson gained six seconds after winning the intermediate sprint at Malonno, followed by Miermont and Iurani Blanco of Human Powered Health.

Soraya Paladin of Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto led the group, pushing with visible effort into the rain-dappled mountain climb. However, Lidl-Trek seemed to be the strongest team of the race, with three riders dominating the chase group in support of their breakaway leader.

Late on in the stage, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and a small group split from the lead, and she ended up losing time to race leader Marlen Reusser (Movistar) as a result.

As the road twisted towards the top of the climb, Miermont was in front, with Henderson close behind her. After a failed surge, Henderson remained close to Miermont’s wheel, refusing her call to the front after the leader flicked her elbow to motion the Brit forwards.

Then, with the finish line in sight, and the peloton firmly out of shot, Henderson stood up out of the saddle and sprinted across the finish line, with Miermont in second, and Paladin in third.

Results

Giro d'Italia Women, Stage two, Clusone > Aprica (92km)

1. Anna Henderson (GBr) Lidl-Trek, 2:24:30
2. Dilyxine Miermont (Fra) CERATIZIT Pro Cycling, at same time
3. Soraya Paladin (Ita) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +0.26
4. Eleonora Ciabocco (Ita) Picnic PostNL, at same time
5. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, at same time
6. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, at same time
7. Ashleigh Moolman (RSA) AG Insurance-Soudal, at same tim
8. Juliette Labous (Fra) FDJ-SUEZ, at same time
9. Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Fenix-Deceunick, at same time
10. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Lidl-Trek, at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE TWO

1. Anna Henderson (GBr) Lidl-Trek, in 2:42:03
2. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, +15s
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +31s
4. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +35s
5. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv AlUla Jayco, +56s
6. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +56s
7. Katrine Aalerud (Nor) Uno-X Mobility, +59s
8. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto, +1:03
9. Juliette Labous (Fra) FDJ-SUEZ, +1:06
10. Dilyxine Miermont (Fra) CERATIZIT Pro Cycling, +1:10

Swiss champion, Marlen Reusser won the opening time trial stage of the 2025 Giro d’Italia Women, taking the race leader’s maglia rosa by 12 seconds ahead of her rivals.

The Movistar rider’s effort was perfectly paced, setting the fastest time at the intermediate check on the 14.2km course, and holding her advantage to the finish in the centre of Bergamo, but an average speed of 49.06kph.

She was challenged strongly by the SD Worx-Protime pair of Lotte Kopecky and Anna van der Breggen, who finished second and fourth, 12 and 20 seconds down respectively, giving the Dutch team tactical options as the race wears on.

Defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) bisected the two SD Worx riders perfectly, taking third place at 16 seconds.

The race was keenly fought throughout, with a series of top times posted by the early riders. Starting 55th of the 153 rdiers, Olympic silver medalist, Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) clocked 17.49, and was in the hot seat for well over an hour before losing out, the former British champion eventually finishing sixth.

Of the other GC favourites Monica Trinca Colonel was best placed, the Liv-Alula-Jayco rider finishing ninth, 41 seconds down, on the same time as Henderson’s team mate Shirin van Anrooij.

Reusser was effusive in her post race interview. “I’m still very excited and I can almost not believe it that we won, it feels like a little bit surreal. I was not sure how good my TT is, it’s really a big dream of mine to win here and to wear pink.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Men’s Giro organiser, RCS took over the race last year, but have maintained the race’s habit of beginning with a time trial, whether that be an individual effort, a prologue or a team time trial. Indeed, 2025 is the 12th consecutive edition to have opened with a race of truth, this time starting and finishing in the northern city of Bergamo.

Australian, Amber Pate (Liv-Alula-Jayco) was the first of the 153 riders to head down the ramp for the pan flat, 14.2km course, first heading out on a long opening straight, before a dead turn and returning to a intermediate timing point after 8.5km. This came immediately after beginning the more technical final few kilometres.

Pate eventually stopped the clock with a time of 19:04, though she was soon beaten Norwegian Junior time trial champion, 18-year-old Kamilla Aesebø (Uno-X Mobility) clocking an impressive time of 18:39.

However, as the day wore on, predictably the times got faster, Lidl-Trek rouleur Lauretta Hanson, taking 25 seconds off the young Norwegian. She too was soon usurped, this time by Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health), the American clocking 18:13.

Next it was Norwegian TT champion, Katrin Aalerud’s (Uno-X Mobility) turn, briefly taking the lead, before Olympic silver medalist and former British champion, Anna Henderson who took her place, an impressive 17 seconds out of Aalerud.

After more than an hour in the hot seat Henderson was beaten, first by Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike) then by pre-race favourite and four time winner Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), who crossed the line in 17:42, though she never quite reached the leader’s waiting area before Reusser took her place.

Monday’s second stage sees the peloton on their road bikes for the first of the 2025 Giro’s three uphill finishes. Over its 92km the peloton climbs 1,450m as it heads north, into the Alps between Clusone and Aprica.

RESULTS

GIRO D’ITALIA WOMEN, STAGE ONE, BERGAMO > BERGAMO (14.2KM ITT)

1. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, in 17:22
2. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime, +12s
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +16s
4. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +20s
5. Lieke Nooijen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +24s
6. Anna Henderson (Gbr) Lidl-Trek, +27s
7. Christina Schweinberger (Aut) Fenix-Deceuninck, +30s
8. Alessia Vigilia (Ita) FDJ-SUEZ, +40s
9. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv-Alula-Jayco, +41s
10. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Lidl-Trek, at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE ONE

1. Marlen Reusser (Sui) Movistar, in 17:22
2. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime, +12s
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +16s
4. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +20s
5. Lieke Nooijen (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +24s
6. Anna Henderson (Gbr) Lidl-Trek, +27s
7. Christina Schweinberger (Aut) Fenix-Deceuninck, +30s
8. Alessia Vigilia (Ita) FDJ-SUEZ, +40s
9. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita) Liv-Alula-Jayco, +41s
10. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Lidl-Trek, at same time

Wondering what cycling is on TV this week? Or how to watch each race, wherever you are in the world? You’ve come to the right place. Cycling Weekly’s pro cycling TV and streaming guide is here to keep you updated throughout the 2026 season, so you don’t miss a minute of the action.

Below, you’ll find details about which races are being televised this week, which broadcasters are showing them, and the ways you can access that coverage.

We'll try and make it as simple and cost-effective for you to watch all the cycling you want, with information on subscriptions, streaming deals, free trials, and indeed free streams.

Cycling on TV this week - at a glance

Watch cycling from anywhere

Away from home when the races are on? That doesn't mean you have to miss out...

Many streaming platforms these days are geo-restricted, meaning they'll only work in certain countries, but assistance is on hand, in the form of a VPN. A Virtual Private Network – to use the full name – is a piece of software that lets you alter your device's IP address to make it appear to be in any country in the world, therefore unblocking the streaming services you use back home.

It's great for watching cycling on the move, and the added benefit is that VPNs provide a huge boost to your internet security. Our colleagues over at TechRadar know everything there is to know about VPNs and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN out there right now.

► Should I use a VPN to watch cycling? Explaining the benefits, costs, considerations, and best VPNs for streaming the races

How to watch the Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes

Newly christened The Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes, the Critérium du Dauphiné takes place between Sunday 7th June and the 14th, covering a total distance of 1,204 kilometres. While the race may have a new name, it remains an important testing ground in the lead up to the Tour de France.

This year's edition of the race will feature the Grand Colombier, among other new additions to last year's route. The mountain has special significance for last year's winner, Tadej Pogačar, who secured his second-ever Tour de France stage win there in 2020.

UK: In the UK, the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will be shown both on HBO Max and ITV4.

North America: Fans in the US can watch the race on NBC Sports.

Canada: Those in Canada can watch the race on Flobikes.

Australia: Fans down under can catch the action on SBS.

Free: You can also watch the race free on a variety of local stations, including SBS or Rai Sportvia a VPN.

How to watch the Circuit Franco-Belge

Previously known as both the Tour de Wallonie-Picarde and the Eurométropole Tour, the 2026 iteration of the Circuit Franco-Belge will take a 195.6 tour through Belgium, beginning in Tournai and finishing in Mont-de-l’Enclust. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) won the 2025 edition with a breakaway sprint in Mont-de-l’Enclus.

Footage of the race for UK audiences will begin at 15:15 on June 10.

UK: In the UK, the Circuit Franco-Belge will be shown on HBO Max.

North America: Fans in the US can watch on HBO Max, with additional footage on Amazon Prime.

Canada: Those in Canada can catch the action on Flobikes.

Free: You can also watch the race free on Sporza via a VPN.

How to watch the Copenhagen Sprint

One of the newest WorldTour races on the calendar, the Copenhagen Sprint takes over the second weekend of June, with the women’s race taking place on the Saturday, and the men’s on the Sunday. While the races vary in length (the women will race 156km while the men will race 228.2km), both will race along flat, exposed roads and into a final circuit that finishes in Copenhagen city centre in a demonstration of speed and sprinting prowess.

Footage of the Copenhagen Sprint will begin at 1pm UK time on Saturday, with the men's race kicking off at 9:35 the following morning.

UK: In the UK, the Copenhagen Sprint will be shown on HBO Max.

North America: Fans in the US can also watch on HBO Max.

Canada: Those in Canada can catch the action on Flobikes.

Free: You can also watch the race free through the Danish broadcaster, DR Sporten via a VPN.

How to watch London Nocturne

This is a bonus extra for fans of London racing. The Nocturne is a night time criterium spanning two days of racing. On Friday, Nocturne’s precursory event, GOSH City Criterium will span 13:00 - 19:00, with the main event happening on Saturday between 20:00 and 22:00. For those seeking out more niche forms of racing, there will also be a Penny Farthing Race, a Brompton Folding Bike Race and a Voi Bike Challenge happening as part of the weekend. The elite races will be broadcast on HBO, with all other races live streamed on YouTube, but if you’re in London head out to watch it in person!

UK: In the UK, London Nocturne will be shown on HBO Max and livestreamed on YouTube.

Free: You can also watch the race free on YouTube.

How to watch Muur Classic Geraardsbergen

A 183 km circuit beginning and ending in the Belgian town of Geraardsbergen, the main attraction of the Muur Classic Geraardsbergen is the famous Mur de Grammont, which riders will lap three times before finishing. Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) will be amongst the riders lining up to race on Sunday, though last year’s winner, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), is currently absent from the startlist.

Footage of the race will begin at 12:35 for UK audiences.

UK: In the UK, Muur Classic Geraardsbergen will be shown on HBO Max.

North America: Fans in both the US and Canada can watch on Flobikes.

Free: You can also watch the race free through VRT Belgium via a VPN.

Plans and prices

UK

US

Canada

Australia

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Last week, one of the biggest bike races in the world was taking place. It consisted of a titanic battle between two of the best riders in the sport through a variety of different types of stages, ending in the high mountains. No, not the Tour de France and Tadej Pogačar v Jonas Vingegaard, but the Giro d’Italia Women, and Elisa Longo Borghini v Lotte Kopecky. Longo Borghini won a thrilling race.

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However, I can’t blame you too much if the Giro failed to feature on your radar, it is on at the same time as the all-encompassing Tour de France. The Tour is like a black hole, sucking in all matter that surrounds it, and the Giro is an unfortunate victim of this. For years, it has been the most prestigious women’s stage race on the calendar - until the Tour de France Femmes was created - and yet it has always insisted on running concurrently with the men’s Tour. Just for a rough guide in popularity, the women’s Giro has 19,000 followers on Instagram, while the Tour has 2.5m. It’s not a fair contest.

I know who won each Giro stage, I’ve read the race reports, I’ve seen some highlights, but as someone on the ground at the Tour de France, it would be very possible for the Giro to completely pass me by. The trials and tribulations of covering the Tour are very much real, and they don’t allow for things like watching the Giro live. And I work in cycling for a living, so I can’t imagine what it is like for the casual fan. 

The casual fan, who might be tempted by thrilling stage race action, must be at the front of the mind of race organisers, and yet the Giro has always insisted on its slot in the calendar. While the Vuelta Femenina and the Tour de France Femmes find spots in the Women’s WorldTour calendar that aren’t at the same time as a more popular men’s event, the Giro remains stubborn.

The reasons given have always been twofold: the viewing figures in Italy were higher when the race was shown in a highlights package after the men’s Tour stage that day on Italian TV, and that with a smaller women’s peloton, there are few alternative slots available for the race to run. The former argument seems to belong to a different era. In our age of on-demand streaming and the ability to watch something anytime, anywhere, then surely it makes sense to move the race in the calendar. The latter feels out of date, too, and regardless, a re-shuffle in favour of one of the most prestigious races in the women’s calendar feels achievable with enough impetus. 

The WorldTour calendar is already full to bursting - granted - but a race with the importance of the Giro should be allowed to pick a better slot, perhaps moving to before the Tour, and swapping a couple of events around. It just seems like madness that the Giro, the first women’s Grand Tour, insists on running in mid-July and having less attention as a result. There’s only so much the cycling media can do to big it up when something as huge as the men’s Tour is on at the same time.

Partly due to branding, partly due to the lineup, and partly due to the calendar, the Tour de France Femmes already feels like a bigger race, and the Giro had a head start of decades. Now under the management of RCS, the organisers of the men’s Giro too, surely it is time for a rethink and a reboot. It just makes no sense. Surely the best cyclists in the world deserve a race that takes the limelight. Surely.

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.