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Niamh Fisher-Black raises her arm in victory

Giro Women stage 3 report: Fisher-Black wins the first mountain stage solo

Elisa Longo Borghini retained her overall lead and will start the fourth stage with a 13 second lead on Lotte Kopecky.

Abby Mickey
by Abby Mickey 09.07.2024 Photography by
Cor Vos
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Niamh Fisher-Black timed a late-race move to perfection to win the third stage of the Giro d’Italia Women. Fisher-Black’s SD Worx-Protime teammate Lotte Kopecky climbed spectacularly to finish second on the stage, six seconds later. The world champion outsprinted Juliette Labous, who finished third, and Elisa Longo Borhgini.

Longo Borghini held onto her overall lead after the stage. The Italian sits 13 seconds ahead of Kopecky going into the fourth stage. Labous, who finished second overall in the 2023 edition of the Giro, finished the third stage third overall, 25 seconds behind the Lidl-Trek rider.

Stage 3 Top 10

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How it happened

Brief analysis

GC Top 10

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Longo Borghini sprays prosecco while wearing the pink leader's jersey.

Quote of the Day

Fisher-Black is the first rider from New Zealand to win a stage at the Giro. She has long been a favourite, a rider to watch, but timing hasn’t always been on her side.

Well, I don’t think anyone expects to win, but for sure I had a good feeling about today. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, but something about this stage spoke to me.

Fisher-Black on winning the stage

What’s next?

Stage 4: Imola to Urbino (134 km)

Date: Wednesday, July 10
Stage type: Hilly
Summary: Three challenging climbs to end the stage.

Any sprinters hoping to have their day in the Italian sun will have to keep waiting; yet again the fourth stage will not be for them. It’s another pan-flat start, with the interesting stuff not taking off until 51 km to go.

There are three categorized climbs, the final of which ends the stage. The first is a cat 2, and the final two are cat 3s, but after a real GC stage on Tuesday, this is a great possible stage for a breakaway. 

The first Cat 2 is broken up into segments. There is a 1.2 km-long opening section of 7% (max 9%) followed by a 1.2 km-long section that averages 8% but includes a staggering bit of 19%. It finishes off with a chunk of 1 km with an average of 7% and a max of 12%. Each section is broken apart, like a stairstep-type situation. But seriously .. .ouch.

After the summit, the road continues to roll along for 8 km before descending to the next climb. This one is two segments with a descent between them. The first is 2.7 km long and averages 7.8% with a max of 11.4%. After a short descent, there’s another climb of 3 km, averaging 6% but maxing out at 13.8%. In total, including the 1.4 km descent, the climb is over 8 km. Not bad.

The final ascent will lead to the finish in Urbino. It starts with 13.4 km to go and rises gradually for the next 11 km. This final one is really gradual, only 2.9% average with some sections of 8%. The road dips slightly with 2 km to go and then pitches again, only a bit, before the line.

Originally published in the stage-by-stage preview, found here.

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