Lorena Wiebes was already thinking about how she might win the pink jersey after she took another dominant sprint win in the first stage of the Giro d’Italia Women.
The SD Worx-Protime rider had clear air between her back wheel and second placed Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek).
Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) rounded out the podium in third place.
Wiebes now has six stage wins at the Italian tour on her palmarès.
She’ll wear the pink jersey on stage two to Caorle, where she’s believes she can doubling up at this year’s race.
Speaking to TNT Sports she said: “Hopefully tomorrow is another sprint it would be amazing to win in the maglia rosa.”
She was able to identify some improvements her SD Worx-Protime squad can make. “The team worked really hard all day to control the breakaway. It was a lot of chaos on the final circuit but we expected that,” she said.
“My final lead-out Babara Guarischi came a bit too early but I was able to find my way and was able to sprint. That was the most important thing today.”
Asked why she thought the final, sometimes tight and technical, circuit around Ravenna proved chaotic she said: “I think we did the most work before entering the circuit and it was also the GC teams that wanted to keep their GC leader safe from any crashes. We focused mainly on the last lap, keeping together and timing it well for the finish.”
The circuit at the end of a pan flat 139km held the potential for attacks but with too many teams with sprinters keen to keep things together none materialise within the final 50km.
Fenix-Premier Tech, Lidl-Trek, Movistar, SD Worx-Protime and Uno-X Mobility all took it in turns pulling the peloton around the laps of Ravenna.
As they rounded the final bends Millia Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech) came to the front of the peloton in her effort to lead out team-mate Charlotte Kool, Wiebes’s former team-mate.
However, it was the Sd Worx-Protime rider who jumped onto the British Champion’s wheel and was able to use it to spring off the front of the pack in the finishing straight.
While Balsamo tried valiantly to match Wiebes’s speed she had already created a gap and pulling her back would prove impossible.
ResultGiro d’Italia Women: Stage 1, Cesenatico > Ravenna (139km)
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:18.22
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek
3. Lara Gilespie (Ire) UAE Team ADQ
4. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon-SRAM
5. Georgia Baker (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco
6. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech
7. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility
8. Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra) AG insurance-Soudal
9. Célia Gery (Fra) FDJ United-Suez
10. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health, all at same time
General Classification after stage 1
1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) SD Worx-Protime in 3:18.22
2. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +0.04
3. Lara Gilespie (Ire) UAE Team ADQ, +0.06
4. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon-SRAM, +0.10
5. Georgia Baker (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco
6. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech
7. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility
8. Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra) AG insurance-Soudal
9. Célia Gery (Fra) FDJ United-Suez
10. Lily Williams (USA) Human Powered Health, all at same time
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