Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) added yet another Giro d'Italia stage win to her tally on Thursday, sprinting to a convincing victory on stage 6 to bring her total to four in this year's race.
The 28-year-old Italian was perfectly positioned through a tricky finale thanks to an expert lead-out from Lucinda Brand. Maggie Coles-Lyster (Human Powered Health) launched first in the sprint but Balsamo responded quickly and cruised to a clear win at the line in Brescello. Coles-Lyster settled for second with Georgia Baker (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) taking third on the day.
A few of the big GC names spent some nervous moments caught out in splits forced by crosswinds midway through the race, but things came back together in the end with little change near the top of the overall standings. Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) continues to lead the Giro.
[race_result id=9064 stage_id=90179 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]
[race_result id=9064 stage_id=90179 count=5 gc=5 year=2026]
How it happened
- With nary a categorized climb in sight, stage 6 always seemed like a day for the sprinters. The early breakaway formed quickly with four riders going clear and the peloton allowed the gap to grow to around four minutes before things stabilized.
- Fenix-Premier Tech and Lidl-Trek took up the task of setting the pace back in the bunch, with little change in the state of affairs through the midpoint of the 160 km stage.
- The racing started to heat up after that as riders rolled down an exposed stretch of roads on the approach to Lake Garda. With the riders heading north, the wind picked up out of the east and teams upped the pace battling for position in the growing crosswind.
- That increase in tempo rapidly brought down the gap to the break, and it also forced splits. Van der Breggen was comfortably in the lead group with SD Worx navigating the situation with aplomb, but Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) was among those caught in a second group on the road, with Marlen Reusser (Movistar) and others in a group even further back.
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