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Pink jersey Elisa Balsamo sprints to win in Giro d'Italia Women in absence of Lorena Wiebes

Pink jersey Elisa Balsamo sprints to win in Giro d'Italia Women in absence of Lorena Wiebes

Elisa Balsamo claimed victory in the second stage of the Giro d'Italia Women, wearing the pink jersey as an Italian rider. She won the sprint ahead of Lara Gillespie and Chiara Consonni. Charlotte Kool finished fourth.

On the second day of the Giro d'Italia, the riders faced another flat stage. However, they did encounter the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio (1100 meters at 12.3%) along the route. After this steep climb, which also featured in the men’s Giro, there were still almost ninety kilometers left to the finish in Caorle. So, once again, a bunch sprint was expected—although this time without Lorena Wiebes.

Wiebes was disqualified on Saturday evening, just hours after winning the opening stage. The sprinter from SD Worx-Protime was removed from the race because her bike did not comply with UCI regulations. The bike was found to be too light. Because of this, Elisa Balsamo was allowed to add the opening stage victory to her palmarès and started stage two in the pink jersey.

Early in the stage, a breakaway formed consisting of three Italian riders: Eleonora La Bella (Aromitalia Vaiano) was joined by Elisa De Vallier and Sara Luccon (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo). Afghan rider Fariba Hashima tried to bridge across with Giorgia Serena and Josie Nelson, but they never managed to close the gap.

Meanwhile, La Bella, Vallier, and Luccon built a lead of over six minutes, but on the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio, the peloton significantly reduced that advantage. La Bella was the first to summit this climb, earning her the right to start Monday’s stage in the mountain classification jersey.

Sprinting in Caorle
The three escapees never really had a chance of staying away. With eleven kilometers remaining, they were reeled in, and the peloton charged full speed toward a second consecutive mass sprint. The high pace was mainly due to Elisa Longo Borghini, who put in an incredibly long pull for her teammate Lara Gillespie.

While entering the final kilometer, Lucinda Brand led the group as a lead-out for Elisa Balsamo, but in the last straight all the trains derailed. In the end, Gillespie launched the sprint, but Balsamo was right on her wheel and managed to come around. The Lidl-Trek rider kept Chiara Consonni, Gillespie, and Charlotte Kool at bay to take the win in her pink jersey.