Saturday’s eighth, and Queen stage of the Giro d’Italia women’s race was dramatically shortened by, of all things, an ice fall. While the decision sounds like it was communicated clearly as possible, though there’s always some confusion when a stage is shortened mid-race, riders seem divided in what it is now possible to do with the remaining racing.
The problem? Anna van der Breggen has an increasingly firm grip on the Maglia Rosa. Some riders, like Demi Vollering, looked poised to put the pressure on over the Colle delle Finestre Saturday.
“It is what it is”
When that effort was cut short, Vollering said her realistic chances of nabbing pink from van der Breggen were similarly shortened.
“It is what it is,” Vollering told cameras after the race. “We race in an outdoor sport. These things happen.”
She shared her FDJ-Suez team had planned its effort and strategy around Saturday’s full parcours.
“It’s really hard to see how we’ll take time tomorrow. We’ll discuss strategy tonight over dinner, but it’ll be hard.”
“It ain’t over till the fat lady sings”
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig took a more positive spin on the course change.
“I mean, come on there’s still tomorrow,” Ludwig told cameras, adding “And tomorrow looks pretty freaking hard.”
She’s not wrong. Anything can happen in stage racing and it’s only the standings at the end of the last stage that decide who wins, not who is leading on the road mid-week. To put it another way?
“Hey, it ain’t over till the fat lady sings,” said a laughing Ludwig.
Holmgren’s hopes
The most exciting part of Saturday for Canadian fans wasn’t the whims of mother nature, but Isabella Holmgren’s blistering attacks. The young Lidl-Trek racer, currently in the races white jersey for best young rider, was soaring on the gravel slopes leading into Saturday’s shortened finish line.
At one point, Holmgren looked to be fading back, only to then bridge to, and attack Vollering and van der Breggen’s group on the road. Thrilling stuff to see! The Ontario racer is already a multiple time world champion on the dirt and in the mud. Now she’s already taking on the biggest names in pro cycling deep into a premiere stage race. Who else is getting excited for worlds this fall in Montreal?
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