Vollering wins the Finestre but does not take the lead from Van der Breggen

The Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) won the eighth stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia106 kilometres, held between Rivoli and Colle delle Finestre, in which she shaved ten seconds off her compatriot Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) in the fight for the ‘maglia rosa’.

Even so, the SD Worx rider resisted Vollering’s wheel in the port and will arrive as leader to the ninth and final stage of this Giro. The time difference between the two, which was one minute, was reduced to 50 seconds due to the 10 second bonus that the FDJ added at the finish line.

The stage podium was completed by Isabella Holmgren (Lidl) and Antonia Niedermaier (CANYON). Van der Breggen crossed the improvised finish line in fourth place. The organizers decided that the time of the stage between the first four would be the same.

It was the queen stage of the ‘Corsa Rosa’, the one marked in red on the favorites’ calendar. The climbs to the Colle delle Finestre (18.5 kilometers at 9.2% average slope) and Sestrière (16.2 at 3.8%) were planned, where the finish line was to be found, but the terrain conditions prevented the complete spectacle.

When there was theoretically just over 30 kilometers left for the finish line, the race organization reported that an unstable sheet of ice could fall onto the road, forcing the stage to be shortened. This would end one kilometer before reaching the Finestre.

By the time that announcement came, at the head of the race, in the middle of the Finestre climb, only the four leaders of the peloton remained: Demi Vollering (FDJ), leading the group, followed by Antonia Niedermaier (CANYON), Isabella Holmgren (Lidl) and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx), leader of the race.

The peloton, which had arrived with a fleeting escape of 16 runners ahead at the foot of the pass, had been selected naturally during the climb, until only the best climbers remained ahead.

The four leaders took over in the changes of pace. Holmgren, who seemed on the verge of being left behind for a stretch, responded by attacking, but was unable to leave her competitors behind. The ‘sterrato’, sprinkled with snow on the margins and covered by fog, was the scene of an exercise in resistance for the favorites.

Vollering, who had set the pace in the group, saw that she was running out of time to try to reduce the minute that separates her from Van der Breggen in the general classification, so she saved her strength to fight for the stage victory. In the last corners just before the improvised finish line, the Dutchwoman pushed, encouraged by the crowd, and crossed the line alone, which helped her earn the bonus for the stage victory.

The women’s Giro d’Italia ends this Sunday with the ninth and final day, of 145 kilometers, starting and finishing in Saluzzo. Three scoring passes are included in the route, with Montoso (8.9 kilometers at 9.4% average slope), first category, as the greatest difficulty, although it is crowned with 90 kilometers remaining.