The queen stage of the Giro Donne was the most dramatic of the week so far, with crashes and heartbreak balanced against the elation of a first-time professional victory. Antonia Niedermaier, the young German on Canyon-SRAM, attacked with roughly 30 km and carried herself all the way to the line to take stage victory, chased closely by general classification leader Annemiek van Vleuten. Niamh Fisher-Black led a chasing group in to take third on the stage almost a minute and a half later.
But where Niedermaier scored a fantastic victory, Lidl-Trek found only devastation. Stage 4 winner Elisa Longo Borghini crashed heavily on the final descent as she was chasing hard only three seconds behind Van Vleuten on the road. The Italian national champion, who was second place overall going into the stage, remounted but quickly lost ground and finished arm and arm with her teammate Shirin van Anrooij more than seven minutes down on the winner.
How it happened
- On the first and longest climb of the day Van Vleuten and Gaia Realini broke away, with Niamh Fisher-Black of SD Worx chasing close behind. The two riders out front were eventually joined by Fisher-Black and Elisa Longo Borghini who caught the New Zealand rider on the descent.
- The flat roads between the first and second climb allowed the four to be joined by a group of other strong climbers including Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich), Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM), and Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez). A group of 11 chased almost two and a half minutes behind as the penultimate climb loomed.
- Van Vleuten attacked on the second climb with 29 km to go, but the group was not about to let the pink jersey go. However, the attack from Van Vleuten inadvertently set off a series of counter-moves from the group, with Niedermaier eventually finding herself solo off the front of the race.
- Chase two, with the GC’s third-placed rider, Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB), caught the group containing Van Vleuten with 15 km to go after chasing for most of the stage while the German from Canyon-SRAM was still alone out front.
- With just over two km to the crest of the final climb, Van Vleuten attacked with Longo Borghini tight on her wheel. Ahead, Niedermaier continued to chip away at the kilometres with 50 seconds advantage on the pink jersey.
- Over the top of the final climb, Van Vleuten had narrowed the gap to Niedermaier to 14 seconds with Longo Borghini a further three seconds behind. The chase was shattered on the climb, with Ewers, Fisher-Black, Realini, and Labous chasing, but it was disaster on the descent. Van Vleuten went down but was able to get back up quickly, while Longo Borghini was less fortunate and crashed into, then over, a mound of dirt and into a small stand of trees. The Italian national champion eventually got back on her bike some minutes later, but she was in no hurry to chase down the front of the race.
- It was one against one, the veteran vs. the newbie, in the closing kilometres. Still, Van Vleuten just couldn’t find the extra watts to catch 20-year-old Niedermaier, whose gutsy move delivered her the stage and moved her into second overall behind Van Vleuten.
Brief stage results
- Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM) 3:14:02
- Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar) @ :09
- Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Worx) @ 1: 26
- Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich)
- Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) both same time
GC standings
- Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) 12:19:36
- Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon-SRAM) @ 2:07
- Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) @ 2:18
- Juliette Labous (DSM-Firmenich) @ 3:00
- Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) @ 3:14
Notes and analysis
- The first climb of the day proved to be a decisive one. As predicted, Van Vleuten used it as a launching pad to get ahead of the race early. Lidl-Trek started the day with high hopes as both Realini and Longo Borghini were able to keep pace with the 2022 Giro winner, but ended with only Realini in the general classification fight.
- 2023 is Niedermaier’s first year racing with Canyon-SRAM’s elite team after spending 2022 on their development team, Canyon-SRAM Generation. A year ago she earned her entry into the WWT by winning two stages and the overall at Tour de l’Ardèche.
- It was a day of redemption for SD Worx’s Fisher-Black, who was active all day and managed to land on the podium of the stage. The young Kiwi also jumped into the top 10 overall, and going into the rest of the week sits in 10th just under three minutes from the podium.
- There were many riders who attempted to make the day their own including Labous, who won the only mountaintop finish of the 2022 Giro, and Persico, the Italian who burst onto the scene last year.
- Ewers had a big fight on her hands to remain on the podium. After being distanced on the first climb the runner-up on stage 4 had to fight all day to regain contact with Van Vleuten. She eventually turned the day around to finish fifth and hold third overall.
Next up: stage 6
The sixth stage is far tamer than the fifth, with three Category 3 climbs, the final of which ends the stage, but there are no significant features before km 63.
All three of the climbs are short; the first is the longest at 5.6 km. While the second is only 2.5 km, it is steeper, averaging 7.3%. The final climb to the line is 2.8 km long and averages 5.6%, so not completely insignificant. The bottom of the final climb is the worst part, with grades of 9%, but the ascent flattens out near the top.
After a few hard days, it could finally be a day for the breakaway, but there are definitely some teams that will want to bring their quick women to the line. Marianne Vos, for one, will be keen to take her first victory at this year’s Giro and 33rd career victory at the Giro Donne.
We love to see it
Van Anrooij, leader of the UCI’s youth classification, rode to the finish with her team captain Longo Borghini following the Italian’s late race crash. After such a hard day on the bike for Longo Borghini, when it looked like she was going to go into the rest of the week fighting for the pink jersey, having a teammate who’s got your back is something worth smiling about.
After such a crash it’s always a weight off to see a rider finish the race. Hopefully, our Italian champion will be fighting for more wins soon.
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