Neve Bradbury attacked with less than 10 km remaining on the Blockhaus climb and powered away from the GC favourites to win the stage solo by 44 seconds. Behind the Australian from Canyon-SRAM, Elisa Longo Borghini tried to shake Lotte Koepcky with repeated attacks, but the world champion was unshakable. Kopecky was able to sprint ahead of Longo Borghini to the line, gaining valuable bonus seconds, but Longo Borghini did not allow any distance between herself and Kopecky.
Ahead of the eighth stage Longo Borghini still leads the overall by one second over Kopecky, and Bradbury was able to move herself into third overall, 1:12 down.
Stage 7 Top 10
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How it happened
- There were a few single-rider moves early in the stage but the peloton came into the base of Passo Lanciano together. No one was too keen to waste an effort on this first Cat 1 of the day, and a group of elite climbers and GC favourites came over the top of the climb as one.
- The same group started Blockhaus together, but this time Lidl-Trek took the reigns. First, it was Brodie Chapman, but when Realini took over the pacemaking, the damage started. Under the pressure of the Italian, third-overall Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig was distanced. Juliette Labous and Niamh Fisher-Black also lost contact but were able to pace their way back to the group.
- The first major attack of the day came from Canyon-SRAM’s Bradbury with 10.5 km to go. The move gapped Realini, and it was up to Longo Borghini to follow. The pink jersey was joined by Bradbury’s teammate Antonia Niedermaier and Kopecky. Pauliena Rooijakkers was also able to climb with Bradbury.
- Not even a kilometre later, Bradbury attacked again, and this time she was able to get a gap on her rivals.
- Longo Borghini tried to ride away from Kopecky with 6.4 km to go, but the attempt didn’t work, the world champion quick to follow the pink jersey. The move was partially successful in that it left Niedermaier behind, and though she tried again in the final 4 km, Longo Borghini was still unable to get rid of her shadow.
- Up the road from the fight for the overall, Bradbury crossed the finish line alone, 44 seconds in front of her chasers.
- Kopecky opened up the sprint to the line, with bonus seconds on offer, and Longo Borghini couldn’t come around her. The SD Worx-Protime rider took six seconds while the Lidl-Trek rider took four.
GC Top 10
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Brief analysis
- The list of non-finishers was long. Elisa Chabbey, who crashed in the sixth stage, did not start due to a fracture in her foot, with Maud Oudeman (Visma-Lease a Bike) and stage 2-winner Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) also unable to start. During the stage, stage 4-winner and Mountains Classification leader Clara Emond (EF Education-Cannondale) and teammate Letizia Borghesi were among the abandons, along with SD Worx-Protime’s Chantal van den Broek-Blaak. In total, eight riders abandoned the stage.
- Bradbury’s most significant time loss was in the first stage time trial where she gave Longo Borghini 1:47. She then lost eight seconds to the Italian on the third stage and another seven seconds the day after.
- Kopecky proved her climbing abilities earlier this season by winning ahead of Bradbury at the UAE Tour, but her performance on Saturday at the Giro was next level.
Quote of the Day
I am really cooked to be honest. I had to go so deep, so far into the red zone, I don’t think I’ve pushed so hard in my life.
Neve Bradbury on her effort to win stage 7 of the Giro.
What’s next?
Stage 8: Pescara to L’Aquila (117 km)
Date: Sunday, July 14
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: Only one Cat 1 to go!
After the mountains of stage 7 the peloton will almost look forward to a stage containing only one Cat 1 ascent, even if there is 2,406 meters of elevation gain throughout the day.
The final stage starts climbing just 20 km in and doesn’t really stop until the finish, but the climbs are long and gradual, as opposed to stage 6’s punchy ascents. The first Cat 3 climb is roughly 10 km long, depending on where you consider the start of the climb. The official start is 37 km into the stage, but the road will have been gradually rising for 12 km already by then.
Officially, the Cat 3 is about 7.5 km long, averaging 4.2 % with a max grade of 7.6%. It’s nothing compared to Saturday.
After a pedalling descent off the first climb, the peloton will race their final Cat 1 of this year’s Giro, a 9.5 km climb averaging 4.8% and maxing out at 9%. From there it’s rolling to the finish with two tiny, punchy climbs to end the race.
Looking at the challenging nature of the course from stage 1 to this final stage, it would not be surprising to see a break go on stage 8. The GC will have been wrapped up the stage before, with little room for movement. Think Giro 2020, when Evita Muzic won the final stage.
Originally published in our stage-by-stage preview here.
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