How the Race Finished
The Giro Donne ended with a sprint between two Italians, with Chiara Consonni (Valcar Travel & Service) finishing ahead of Rachele Barbieri (Liv Racing Xstra) and Emma Norsgaard (Movistar). Consonni and Barbieri gapped the field on the final corner, which came just before the line, and Consonni edged ahead, taking her first Giro Donne stage win. Annemiek van Vleuten stayed safe, and secured her Maglia Rosa, making it a third Giro victory in her illustrious career.
The Main Action
The final stage of the Giro Donne was flat: the GC was decided in the mountains, and it was now a final opportunity for the sprinters. It ran from Abano Terme to Padova, finishing in the Prata della Valle square, the largest square in Italy.
Eva Maria Gatscher (Team Mendelspeck) was the first attacker, but was caught within 10km. There was one categorised climb, Rovolon, early on in the stage. Elise Chabbey attacked it, taking the maximum points, but it wasn’t enough to regain the lead in the Queen of the Mountains competition; Kristen Faulkner had a secure grip on the jersey. The peloton was reduced down to 35 riders over the climb, but the GC podium were all still safely tucked in.
Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx), Victoire Berteau (Cofidis Women Team), and Sara Poidevin (EF Education Tibco SVB) went for an attack, but were caught within 5km. The duo of Krista Doebel-Hickok (EF-Education Tibco SVB) and Alessia Vigilia (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) were more successful: they quickly had a lead of 1’30”. Doebel-Hickok and Vigilia swept up the first and second intermediate sprint points, but Kristen Faulkner attacked from the peloton to take the final point.
On a little rise, Francesca Baroni (Aromitalia – Basso Bikes – Vaiano) attacked, and was followed by the Latvian national champion, Anastasia Carbonari (Valcar Travel & Service). They couldn’t, however, bridge the gap to the leaders, and were caught in the next 10km. Doebel-Hickok and Vigilia continued on alone, but the gap always seemed manageable for the teams looking for a sprint: Trek-Segafredo and DSM were on the front of the peloton, bearing down on the duo.
Doebel-Hickok and Vigilia were caught with 4km to go, and the teams started to line out, preparing for the sprint. Jumbo-Visma were on the front in force with 2km to go; then Trek-Segafredo took up the charge. Charlotte Kool, Lotte Kopecky and Elisa Balsamo were all hovering near the front, but, with 400m to go, Valcar Travel & Service surged to the front. Consonni launched early, and along with Barbieri, they flew round the final corner – which came just before the line – and gapped the other sprinters. It came down to the two Italians, and Consonni pipped Barbieri on the line, taking her fourth victory this season.
Results
As expected, there were no changes in the general classification on the flat final day: Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) won overall, with Marta Cavalli (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine) in second, and Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ) rounding out the podium in third.
