The queen stage of the Giro d’Italia Women lived up to its billing, as Sarah Gigante took a second summit finish win on Monte Nerone and Elisa Longo Borghini moved into the pink jersey with just one stage remaining. Over 150 kilometres from Fermignano to the 1,396-metre summit, the stage featured over 3,600 metres of climbing and reshaped the general classification in dramatic fashion.
Mijntje Geurts was the first to light up the race. The Visma rider attacked with 135 kilometres remaining and quickly built a six-minute lead as the peloton sat up. She soloed over the Moria and Passo la Croce climbs before being joined by Usoa Ostolaza and Shirin van Anrooij on the ascent of La Forchetta. Celia Gery chased in between but was never able to bridge across. Ostolaza took the maximum points at the summit, enough to take the blue jersey from Gigante by a single point, despite the Australian’s later stage win.
On the next descent, Van Anrooij rode clear of her breakaway companions. She began the Monte Nerone climb with a lead of nearly three minutes, but the GC battle had only just started. On a twisting downhill section with 22 kilometres to go, Longo Borghini and her UAE Team ADQ teammate Silvia Persico attacked, joined by Liane Lippert of Movistar. The move was spontaneous, according to Longo Borghini, who later admitted, “We just wanted to control the descent. Then we saw we had a gap and decided to ride.”
Lippert sat on as a monitor for Marlen Reusser, while Persico emptied herself in service of Longo Borghini. The group hit the base of the climb with a 30-second advantage over the pink jersey group. At the same time, Van Anrooij’s lead was down to just over two minutes, and the chase was on.
Photo Credit: LaPressePersico swung off with 11 kilometres to go, having set up her leader perfectly. Longo Borghini dropped Lippert shortly after and continued alone. Behind, Movistar threw everything into the chase, lining up Sara Martín, Mareille Meijering and Lippert once she returned to the peloton, but they were losing ground. Reusser looked calm but isolated.
Gigante made her move with 6 kilometres remaining. She launched from the GC group and immediately forced a split. Nobody could follow. The 24-year-old quickly closed down the gap to Longo Borghini, catching her with just over 3 kilometres to go. After a short breather in the Italian’s wheel, she surged again on the steepest gradients and rode away to win by 45 seconds.
Longo Borghini held on for second place, enough to take the maglia rosa off Reusser, who crossed the line 32 seconds later in fourth. Gigante’s stage win also lifted her to third overall, now 1:11 behind Longo Borghini, while Reusser trails by 22 seconds.
Behind the front trio, Isabella Holmgren claimed third on the stage, her first Giro podium, just ahead of Reusser and Antonia Niedermaier. Barbara Malcotti also impressed, taking sixth on the day and moving into ninth overall. The Human Powered Health rider has now finished inside the top ten on three stages of this Giro and is riding her best-ever stage race.
Niedermaier endured a difficult day that included a crash, a flat tyre and two bike changes. “It was not the best ride of my life,” she admitted. “But I fought until the end. It was chaos, but the team were amazing, always bringing me back.”
The queen stage also marked the end of the race for Marianne Vos, who didn’t start due to illness. She joined Lotte Kopecky on the sidelines, as both riders now shift focus to the Tour de France Femmes.
With one stage remaining, the Giro is far from over. The final day runs from Forlì to Imola and finishes on a rolling circuit that includes four laps over the Mozzolano and Cima Gallisterna climbs. It’s a nod to the 2020 World Championships, and though the gradients are shorter, the terrain is punchy and the time gaps remain tight. Reusser, Gigante and Niedermaier all have something to fight for, and Longo Borghini knows it.
Photo Credit: LaPresse2025 Giro d’Italia Women Stage 7 result
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Main photo credit: LaPresse
