Marlen Reusser launched her bid for the maglia rosa in style on Sunday afternoon, powering to victory in the opening stage of the 2025 Giro d’Italia Women. The Swiss rider blitzed the 14.2km time trial course in Bergamo, setting the fastest times at both the intermediate and final checks to seal the stage win by a clear margin.
The day marked a powerful statement from the Movistar leader, who backed up recent time trial victories at the Vuelta a Burgos and Swiss Nationals by beating some of the sport’s biggest names on a flat, fast and subtly technical course.
The Giro’s now-traditional opening race against the clock was hosted by Bergamo, which had last appeared in the women’s race as a stage finish in 2019. This time, the riders faced a largely flat 14.2km course, beginning and ending in the city, with an intermediate check after 8.5km on the Via Tito Legrenzi. Though classed as flat, the route wasn’t without its traps, featuring roughly 71m of elevation gain from a series of small rises and technical turns in the closing kilometres.
Amber Pate of Liv-AlUla-Jayco was the first rider down the ramp at 13:45 local time. She set an early benchmark of 19:04, which didn’t stand for long. Norwegian junior time trial champion Kamilla Aesebø was next to go under 19 minutes, before Lidl-Trek’s Lauretta Hanson shaved off a further 25 seconds.
That early top time changed hands repeatedly, with Ruth Edwards (18:13) and Katrine Aalerud (18:00) each holding the hot seat for brief spells. Then came Olympic silver medallist and former British champion Anna Henderson, who turned in a clean and composed ride to clock 17:49. That time would keep her in the hot seat for over an hour, ultimately good enough for sixth on the stage.
Photo Credit: Cor VosThe favourites raise the bar
The serious GC contenders were scheduled in the final third of the start order. Lieke Nooijen was one of the first to crack the top five, clocking 17:46 to eventually finish fifth. The young Dutch rider has only just returned to racing following a long break and finished third at the Dutch ITT nationals last week – this was another strong marker of form.
Anna van der Breggen, making her Giro comeback for SD Worx-Protime, set a sharp reference time for the remaining contenders, finishing in 17:42 after a fast first half and steady final sector. She looked poised to take the stage win until Marlen Reusser stormed down the course minutes later.
Wearing the Swiss national champion’s skinsuit, Reusser started fast and only accelerated. She was four seconds up on Van der Breggen at the intermediate check and kept building that margin. Her final time of 17:22 was not just the fastest of the day, but the only ride over 49kph average speed. It was an authoritative performance that immediately placed her at the head of the general classification.
Kopecky and Longo Borghini threaten, but Reusser holds on
The last two riders with a realistic chance of dislodging Reusser were Lotte Kopecky and Elisa Longo Borghini – both known time triallists with strong records in stage races. Kopecky, the reigning European time trial champion, was just four seconds behind Reusser at the 8.5km split, but lost time in the final section, finishing 12 seconds back. Longo Borghini, last year’s Giro champion, conceded six seconds in the first sector and came home third, 16 seconds down.
That sealed the stage for Reusser, who became the first Swiss rider to win a Giro d’Italia Women stage since Nicole Brändli in 2006. It also marked her first-ever day in the maglia rosa.
“I’m still very excited and I can almost not believe it that we won,” Reusser said at the finish. “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.”
Having suffered from long Covid in 2024 and missed the Olympics, the victory was all the sweeter. “I was scared because I know there are people who never recover from it. I’m super happy to be here now, competing and winning,” she added.
Photo Credit: LaPresseGC picture after stage 1
The top five all finished within 24 seconds of Reusser, with Van der Breggen (4th at 20 seconds) and Nooijen (5th at 24 seconds) close behind the top three. Monica Trinca Colonel and Shirin van Anrooij were the best of the rest, both finishing 41 seconds down. Stage 2 will offer the first test of climbing form with a 92km road stage finishing in Aprica. With 1,450m of climbing on the menu, the pink jersey is unlikely to change hands – but the GC gaps could yet grow.
2025 Giro d’Italia Women Stage 1 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: LaPresse
