The queen stage, which included three challenging climbs, started with fireworks. Several riders, including those of Team Jumbo-Visma, wanted to be in the day’s breakaway. Halfway through the stage, Koster attempted to reach the breakaway with several other riders, but she did not succeed. Koster couldn’t keep up on the last climb, even though she managed to stay with the group of favourites for a while.
Race coach Carmen Small had seen a strong and aggressive Koster. “I think Anouska has ridden a good stage today again. She tried to gain some time for the steep climbs, to get as far as possible. On the last climb, she gave everything, but the real climbers and classification riders were stronger. We did what we could today. Hopefully, we’ll finish this Giro tomorrow with a good last stage.”
The Giro d’Italia Donne ends on Sunday with a mostly flat stage to Padova.