As the peloton hit the slopes of the final climb of stage 4 in the Giro d'Italia Women, the riders were at the mercy of Movistar. Liane Lippert's pace on the front of a reduced group caused near destruction for the majority of the climbers, with only Lippert's team leader, Marlen Reusser, and AG Insurance-Soudal's Sarah Gigante looking relatively comfortable on their bikes. Alas, when the German pulled to the side and Reusser took over, there were still 8.5 km to go.
Within two kilometres, the group, once only comprised of five riders, swelled to a mini peloton complete with SD Worx-Protime's Anna van der Breggen, the Lidl-Trek duo of Amanda Spratt and Isabella Holmgren, and on and on. The advantage Lippert had gained for Reusser was done, and Reusser was now alone.
Abby Mickey
Gigante emerged as the stage winner after attacking with less than 2 km to go, and Reusser crossed the line in third place alongside defending Giro champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) just 25 seconds down and nine seconds clear of the nearest chaser.
Reusser termed the result a clear success. "We had planned to set a strong pace at the start of the climb, and that’s exactly what happened," she said at the finish. "Liane Lippert did an incredible job."
While Lippert's effort was impressive, was there a chance it was mistimed? Had the Movistar rider done the same pace farther up the climb, they would have had the race in their hands. As it happened, after the group reformed, Reusser was without any teammates.
Did we do a good job with this story?
