After yesterday’s success, the team were in a buoyant mood heading into today’s sixth stage in Italy, the longest in the race. Faced with a rolling day in the saddle, with numerous hills in the middle of the stage before a flatter finale, it was set to be an action packed day out.
With a lot of teams in the peloton wanting to make the break, it was a fast start to the stage with attack after attack. No group was able to get away until the race reached the hills, where a strong two rider move got clear. They managed to build up a gap of two minutes and 30 seconds with 50 kilometres to go, before like yesterday, the team took up the onus in the chase. Working well, Liane Lippert and Leah Kirchmann started to bring things back before a few other teams started to pull too and heading into the last 12 kilometres the race was back together. A few more probing yet strong attacks were made as riders looked to upset the sprinters but no one was allowed to get away, with Floortje Mackaij contributing to reeling them in.
Heading into the final two kilometres the team surged to the front of the bunch, with Juliette Labous driving the pace before stage five winner Lorena Wiebes took over. Keeping the pace high, Wiebes then peeled over with Coryn Rivera unleashing her strong sprint to the line, claiming a very good second place for the team at the finish.
“It was another great teamwork day today,” explained Coryn after the stage. “The girls, especially Leah, controlled the two riders that were off the front earlier in the stage. It was a long day in the saddle and was the longest stage of the Giro in fact. We controlled it and brought the break back in the last 15 kilometres. The girls did a really good lead out in the end, including Lorena, and they got us some really high speed on what was a bit of downhill finish and I just got pipped on the line. I’m proud of our teamwork today and our ability to adjust and execute the plan. We can still be proud of the finish today.”
Team DSM coach Albert Timmer added: “We again did a really nice job as a team today and we controlled it well in the final. Leah and Liane did a good job to bring the breakaway back before we then set up the sprint finish. In the sprint we tried our best but there was just one rider faster than us today, so we have to be satisfied with the second place.”
RESULTS
Stage General classification Points classification Youth classification Mountains classification
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NORSGAARD Emma | Movistar Team | 3:41:39 | 25 |
| 2 | RIVERA Coryn | Team DSM | ,, | 20 |
| 3 | VOS Marianne | Team Jumbo-Visma Women | ,, | 15 |
Photo credits: Cor Vos