Anna Henderson delivered a career-defining ride on stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia Women, seizing her maiden WorldTour victory and taking over the race lead after outsprinting Dilyxine Miermont at the summit finish in Aprica. The pair attacked with 40km to go and held off a rapidly closing peloton, crossing the line 26 seconds clear. Henderson now leads the general classification by 15 seconds from Marlen Reusser, who had worn pink since the opening time trial.
Her victory marks the first British stage win at the Giro d’Italia Women since Lizzy Banks won stage 4 in 2020. By pulling on the maglia rosa, Henderson also becomes the first British rider to lead the race since Emma Pooley on stage 5 in 2009, ending a 16-year wait.
Photo Credit: LaPresseA calm start on paper – but no easy finish
At just 92km, stage 2 was short but far from straightforward. The route from Clusone to Aprica began with a fast descent and a relatively flat middle section, but the final 30km dragged steadily uphill at an average of 3.8% – a long grind rather than a true climb. Pre-stage analysis had suggested sprinters like Lorena Wiebes and Marianne Vos might survive to contest the finish, with some even tipping Lotte Kopecky for a late punch. But that optimism proved misplaced.
Despite the gentle gradient, the finish turned out to be harder than expected, especially in the final 10km where the road kicked up and the tempo surged. As early as 10km into the official climb, the peloton was already beginning to splinter. The group of favourites thinned out as the pace increased, and one by one, the sprinters were ejected.
Wiebes and Vos were among the first high-profile names to be dropped. Even Kopecky, a punchier finisher more suited to uphill drags, eventually had to let go. The Belgian world champion crossed the line two minutes down, effectively ending her GC ambitions.
Henderson and Miermont commit early
The decisive move came with 40km to go, when Anna Henderson of Lidl-Trek and Dilyxine Miermont of Ceratizit attacked together. Initially seen as a long-range gamble, the pair worked well to establish a lead of over three minutes as they approached the final climb.
Miermont, relatively untested at this level, showed no hesitation in contributing, and Henderson, who had finished sixth in the opening time trial, sensed a rare opportunity. The duo passed through the intermediate sprint in Malonno with Henderson taking the bonus seconds. By that point, the gap had grown to three minutes, and the chase behind was sluggish.
EF Education-Oatly had earlier shown themselves near the front, but it was UAE Team ADQ who eventually began to organise the pursuit with purpose. Still, the gap was stubborn, and as the road steepened into Aprica, the leaders continued to hold firm.
A desperate chase, too late
With 10km to go, the peloton had been reduced to just 20 riders as the pace and gradient combined to sap the legs of even seasoned climbers. Lucinda Brand was among those to drop back, while Reusser remained well-placed but passive. A moment of acceleration from Reusser with around 5km left was quickly neutralised, and any rhythm in the chase began to falter.
The gap began to fall rapidly inside the final 4km – from a minute to 30 seconds – but the front duo never panicked. They still had time to trade short accelerations in the final kilometre before Henderson opened up her sprint with 200 metres to go and held off Miermont to seal the win.
Behind them, Soraya Paladin led home the reduced favourites’ group, taking third on the stage and limiting the chasing group’s time loss to 26 seconds. Eleonora Ciabocco, Reusser, Elisa Longo Borghini, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, Juliette Labous, Yara Kastelijn, and Shirin van Anrooij rounded out the top 10.
Reusser, who had looked comfortable throughout the day, will now start stage 3 second overall at 15 seconds. But the day belonged to Henderson, who not only claimed her first Giro d’Italia Women stage but also her first non-time trial win in four years, her debut WorldTour victory, and the maglia rosa to top it all.
With the breakaway sticking and the gaps opening up, the stage brought the first real shake-up of this year’s race after yesterday’s time trial.
Photo Credit: LaPresse2025 Giro d’Italia Women Stage 2 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: LaPresse
