No surgery for Vos, will race Giro Donne

Marianne Vos will not need surgery to repair the broken collarbone she suffered at the Parkhotel Valkenberg and has already returned to training, her Rabobank team have revealed.

The Dutchwoman, who finished the race in second place despite obvious pain, was fortunate enough to sustain a "good break," with a simple fracture that will heal rapidly on it own, doctors at the Meander Medisch Centrum in Amersfoort said last Friday; a prognosis since confirmed by the Centre's Dr. van Olden after further tests were carried out.

Image credit: Rabosport

Vos, who celebrated her 25th birthday two weeks ago and is widely considered the best rider of her generation, also revealed that she will make her comeback at the Giro Donne - the last Grand Tour of women's cycling and due to start on the 29th of July, fans had worried she might miss it in order to concentrate on the Olympics. "My participation in London is in no doubt whatsoever," she said , "but it now looks like I'll be able to ride at the Giro Donne too. It's my next planned race and an excellent course with a view to the Olympics. In the Giro, I can gain hardness and rate rhythm. There you go - that what I'll now be focusing on."

Meanwhile, she does not plan to defend her National Road Race Championship title as the race will be held on the 23rd of June. "That's a little bit too soon," she explained. When you're Marianne Vos, missing out on a National Championship isn't a problem - you can always win it next year instead.

Giro Donne 2011 videos

Organisers of the Giro Donne - probably the greatest women's cycling race in the world - have uploaded several high quality videos from the 2011 edition on Facebook. See them all here.

Giro Donne Debrief - Another Vos Victory

Marianne Vos adds another trophy to
her cabinet, which must be groaning
under the combined weight.

Marianne Vos has won the General Classification in the 2011 Giro Donne. Ina-Yoko Teutenberg won the final time trial, but it was a long way from enough to beat the 24-year-old Dutch woman who has dominated the race since the start. Vos, one of the most likable riders in professional cycling, was modest about her triumph: "It was only in the first mountain stage, over the Mortirolo Pass, that I first thought I had a chance at first place," she said during a post-race interview with Radio Netherlands - but anyone who has followed her incredible career will have had her down as as an easy favourite ever since the starters were confirmed, because although Vos was not originally known as a climber she has an amazing ability to apparently rapidly change her constitution and body shape in order to get the results she needs.

HTC-Highroad's Ina-Yoko Teutenberg put in an impressive performance in Stage 10, a time trial, and completed the 16km course in 22'17" at an average speed of 43.082kmph. Teutenberg, who is 36 years old, won Stage 4 in Romagna, came second in Stage 1 and third in 5 and 6 - which both featured some respectable climbs, making third place a very impressive result for the sprinter (if Mark Cavendish could climb like she does, he'd have won a Tour de France by now).

Britain's Emma Pooley took 2nd overall

It's also been a superb race for British riders. Emma Pooley, probably the best British rider today, managed second place overall despite coming sixth yesterday. The London-born 26-year-old may have grown up in snooker table-flat East Anglia, but her small size and huge strength makes her a natural in the mountains and she won Stage 8 - which featured a climb to almost 2000m - in 2h25'45", just crossing the line in front of Vos, and achieved several other excellent results throughout the race. Nicole Cooke, ten-time British champion, has been struggling to regain her form after an illness put her out of competitive cycling for a year and hasn't had a successful season so far which has caused some sections of the cycling medi to prematurely write her off. However, she proved decisively why her MCipollini-Giambenini team has kept her on the books by beating Vos to first place in Stage 5. The 28-year-old Welsh woman now has her sights firmly set on next year's Olympics where she'll be aiming for gold.

The mood of the race turned sad due to the tragic death of Carly Hibberd, killed by a car near Milan during a training ride on the 6th of July a few hours before Stage 6 began. The awards ceremony that evening was conducted in sombre fashion without celebration or festivity to pay respects to the popular rider who, while not competing in the race, was well-known to many of those who were. However, the event overall has been a joyous success and will have contributed enormously to the profile of women's racing which, gradually, is beginning to gain some of the recognition it deserves. Cyclists such as Vos and Pooley - the former being considered my some (including us) to be the best in the world of either sex - help no end in achieving this goal and we wish them every success for the future.


Pooley and Vos take 1st and 2nd place in Stage 8 of the Giro Donne 2011.


Stage 10 (TT) results:

1.   Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Germany) HTC-Highroad, 22'17"
2.   Emma Johansson (Sweden) Hitec Products UCK, +12"
3.   Marianne Vos (Netherlands) Nederland Bloeit, +15"
4.   Judith Arndt (Germany) HTC-Highroad,  +23"
5.   Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) HTC-Highroad, +30"
6.   Emma Pooley (UK) Garmin-Cervélo, +43"
7.   Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia) Diadora-Pasta Zara, 51"
8.   Evelyn Stevens (USA) HTC-Highroad, +54"
9.   Tatiana Antoshina (Russia) Gauss, 1'00"
10. Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) MCipollini-Giambenini, +1'03"


Overall General Classification results at conclusion:

1.   Marianne Vos (Netherlands) Nederland Bloeit, 25h42'40"
2.   Emma Pooley (UK) Garmin-Cervélo, +3'16"
3.   Judith Arndt (Germany) HTC-Highroad, +8'15"
4.   Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) MCipollini-Giambenini, +9'09"
5.   Tatiana Antoshina (Russia) Gauss, 12'46"
6.   Ruth Corset (Australia) Bizkaia-Durango, +12'58"
7.   Emma Johansson (Sweden) Hitec Products UCK, +14'15"
8.   Sylwia Kapusta (Poland) Gauss, +14'26"
9.   Shara Gillow (Australia) Bizkaia-Durango, +15'48"
10. Mara Abbott (USA) Diadora-Pasta Zara, +16'24"

Giro Donne Stage 9 - Vos victorious

Vos at 24 is compared to Eddy
Merckx. The way things are
going, she's going to be even
better in another couple of years.

There were no surprises at the end of today's Giro Donne when Marianne Vos was the first to cross the finish line; in fact, with the stage ending near the summit of a 1620m high mountain, it would have been more a surprise had she not have done. But then why beat around the bush here? With the 24-year-old Dutch cyclist going from strength to strength it's a only a surprise when she doesn't win anything she enters.

Vos is that very rare thing: a cycling polymath. She excels in all disciplines, which has drawn comparisons to Eddy Merckx, including time trialing - and with tomorrow's final stage being a TT, which would be her 30th triumph this season alone, she's an easy favourite for the top spot on the podium. In addition to the overall General Classification, she also leads the Points and Mountains classifications.

Stage 9 Results:

1. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) Nederland Bloei           3:12:03  

2. Emma Pooley (UK) Garmin - Cervelo                   +0:00:12  

3. Judith Arndt (Germany) HTC Highroad Women     +0:00:22  

4. Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) SC MCipollini Giordana     +0:00:25  

5. Mara Abbott (USA) Diadora - Pasta Zara          +0:00:33  

6. Tatiana Antoshina (Russia) Gauss                           +0:00:50  

7. Ruth Corset (Australia) Bizkaia-Durango          +0:00:57  

8. Claudia Häusler (Germany) Diadora - Pasta Zara    +0:01:03  

9. Emma Johansson (Sweden) Hitec Products - UCK +0:01:33  

10. Elena Berlato (Italy) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo         +0:01:55

General Classification:

1. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) Nederland Bloeit              25:20:08  

2. Emma Pooley (UK) Garmin - Cervelo                       +0:02:48  

3. Judith Arndt (Germany) HTC Highroad Women        +0:08:07  

4. Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) SC MCipollini Giordana        +0:08:21  

5. Ruth Corset (Australia) Bizkaia-Durango              +0:11:48  

6. Tatiana Antoshina (Russia) Gauss                              +0:12:01  

7. Sylwia Kapusta (Poland) Gauss                                +0:12:18  

8. Mara Abbott (USA) Diadora - Pasta Zara             +0:13:47  

9. Emma Johansson (Sweden) Hitec Products - UCK  +0:14:20  

10. Shara Gillow (Australia) Bizkaia-Durango               +0:14:38

Giro Donne: Stage 7 debrief

Marianne Vos - the best cyclist in the world ?

Another triumph for the truly remarkable Marianne Vos, which rather begs the question: is it time we stopped referring to the 24-year-old Dutch champion as "the best female cyclist in the world" and instead just called her "the best cyclist in the world" from now on? Watching Vos is like watching Hinault and Merckx rolled into one - she can do literally everything better than anything else. We're out of time for today, but as usual Podium Cafe have the best write-up on the race.

General Classification Stage 7 results:

1.   Marianne Vos (Netherlands) 03:39:00
2.   Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) + 01:13
3.   Lucinda Brand (Netherlands) + 01:21
4.   Judith Arndt (Germany) same time
5.   Emma Pooley (UK) + 01:34
6.   Carla Ryan (Australia) + 03:51
7.   Tatiana Antoshina (Russia) same time
8.   Mara Abbott (USA) + 04:29
9.   Emma Johansson (Sweden) + 04:43
10. Claudia Häusler (Germany) + 05:06


Overall General Classification after Stage 7:

1.   Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
2.   Emma Pooley (UK)
3.   Tatiana Guderzo (Italy)
4.   Judith Arndt (Germany)
5.   Sylwia Kapusta (Poland)

Now you're Cooke-ing on gas

We were going to ignore the Giro Donne today due to time constraints, but then Nicole Cooke won yesterday's stage 5 and that was the end of that plan. It was most definitely not an easy one, either - 119km with a climb at the end is never easy, especially when you've got Marianne Vos to contend with.

Nicole Cooke celebrating one of her
numerous victories.

"This is a special success that gives me morale and faith about the possibilities after a difficult spring and a long period of work."

The 28-year-old Welsh professional has had a bit of a shaky year following her return to the sport after suffering an illness which led many experts and much of the press to write her off. In fact, if Cooke did retire now, she could do so with the absolute certainty that her career had been spectacular; she has, after all, won two Tours de France Féminin, a gold in the Olympics, the UCI World Road Race Championships and no less than ten British National Championships. Yet the Swansea-born star isn't ready to hang up her cleats just yet and has looked very keen to add a bit more glory to her impressive total before calling it a day.

Cooke showed an admirable ability to work both as part of a team and alone, forming part of a late breakaway that fulfilled its task perfectly by putting pressure on the pack and tiring them out. Ace climber Valentina Scandolara, looking to the climb at the end, attacked and broke up the group, but the breakaway had worked so well that even she was unable to maintain the pace when the road turned skywards. Cooke immediately seized her opportunity among all the action and went for it with Vos and Ina Teutenberg in close pursuit, crossing the line four seconds before the Dutch champ. Beating Vos by four seconds is roughly equal to beating anyone else by 16, a fantastic result and incontrovertible proof that Cooke can still turn up the heat.

Though her utter joy at winning was obvious, Cooke didn't do it entirely for herself though - she also wanted to show her gratitude to the team that has kept her on the books and stuck by during her recovery period. "I wanted so much to win this stage, which is in our MCipollini Giambenini Giordana team's home base," she told reporters, "I dedicate this success to my family but, in particular, to my team, because they trust and allow me to work without pressure."

Giro Donne: Stage 4 preview

The incredible Marianne Vos dominated in yesterday's Giro Donne stage, just as she dominates a large part of women's cycling, over a parcours characterised by a roller-coasteresque series of short but steep climbs and correspondingly hairy descents which took their toll: a number of riders abandoned, including Shelley Olds who departed before the stage started due to ongoing problems with the cracked ribs she sustained in the Nature Valley Women's GP crash last month. There are few cyclists - either male or female - who have Vos' ability to soak up the sheer stress placed upon the body by that sort of terrain and she was an obvious stage winner from the moment the altitude profile was first available. Emma Pooley, who apparently packs the strength of ten average cyclists into a body the size of two thirds of an average cyclist, was a clear contender for the podium and achieved a respectable second, just 19" after the Dutch star. Meanwhile, nobody else could get anywhere near them as the finish line approached - third place Judith Arndt was a full 2'50" behind Vos.

Piazza Saffi, Forli

Today is about as different as it's possible to be with a winding course that looks as though a drunken spider paddled through a pool of ink before embarking upon a roughly figure of 8-shaped tour of a map of Romagna, one of the most popular regions among Italian cyclists. There's one fairly hefty climb up to just shy of 300m in the first 20km - where Vos, if she wants to hang onto her Mountains Classification jersey, will no doubt once again pull out the stops and lead the pack to the summit - and then it's flatland sprinting all the way to the finish line 50km away. The official Giro Donne website doesn't exactly provide the wealth of information offered by the Tour de France site (in fact, you could even describe it as "a bit rubbish"), which means that for the time being the mysterious amputation of some 30km off the end of the profile remains apparently without reason. We can't find out for certain if a section of the stage has actually been abandoned or if the webmasters just didn't bother showing another 30km of flatness. However, Podium Cafe state that "stage 4 has been shortened a bit for some reason" and since they know what they're talking about we suspect that this will prove to be the case. Whatever's happened to it, this is a stage for the sprinters and, with British champion Lizzie Armitstead out of action, all bets are off - there are a number of extremely capable riders waiting in the wings, any one of whom could be today's victor.

Judith Arndt

The fun begins in the ancient town of Forlimpopoli, location of a solid and surprisingly Moorish-looking castle that sits, incongruously to North European eyes who expect castles to be perched atop rocky crags or at least on steep-sided grassy hills, in the middle of a large, paved square. The route takes in a quick loop about town before hanging a sharp right towards the south, passing through flat fields and on to the village of Ospadaletto,  and then to Bertinoro. Bertinoro has an unusual and rather pleasant custom - each September, it hosts a Hospitality Festival in which families attach envelopes to the Colonna delle Anelle, a column erected in 1300 which stands in the town. Anybody - be they local or stranger - can then take one of these envelopes which contains the address of the family that placed it and an invitation to join them for dinner. It's also the site of a castle dating from 1000 AD and, in the 15th Century, was home to Obadiah ben Abraham, an important and highly-respected rabbi.

She's a climber by trade, but if Mara Abbott builds
up a lead on the day's only hill and then just keeps
turning the pedals to a high placing we won't be
at all surprised.

From there, the riders continue south until they reach the foothills of the Apennine Mountains before swinging west at Polenta towards Meldola, once an important centre of the silk industry but now largely reliant on agriculture and furniture manufacture. It's then a long, straight route north until the route swings around an airport before switching south-east ,passing Forlimpopoli along its northern bypass and continuing to Panighina where it once again turns north and follows a long, flat loop to Forli. Forli was instrumental in the Unification of Italy, the 150th anniversary of which is being celebrated by the Giro Donne this year - so if you're lucky enough to have access to televised footage, or better still able to get there today, there's every chance of  big celebration.

We said at the start of this post that it's difficult to predict a winner today, but nobody would be at all surprised if Marianne Vos managed it yet again: her ability as an all-rounder has earned her the honour of being referred to as the Eddy Merckx of women's cycling and she can perform as well in a sprint as she can on a mountainside and she'll almost certainly be in the top ten. As for the rest? Mara Abbott could be a contender - while her palmares shows a talent perhaps more tuned the climbs, she won this race last year and, as a competitive swimmer and qualified yoga instructor, has the endurance to keep turning the pedals at a decent cadence for a long time; which is precisely what needs to be done through long, flat sections. On the other hand, Judith Arndt is among the few riders with a chance - albeit quite a small one with Vos in on the action - of a top five position when the Giro is over, so she'll be wanting to shrink her disadvantage. With a range of German and World Championships to her name, she's a definite contender today.

Giro Donne: Stage 3 debrief

Marianne Vos, rapidly becoming
one of our very favourite cyclists,
won another stage.

The action in France was once again matched over the border in Italy today where the riders in this year's Giro Donne battled it out over challenging terrain. Just for good measure and to make sure everyone was awake, it started off with a quick lap on cobbles and then entered into a fast descent through fog which made the dangerous hairpin bends slippery and soon accounted for one rider when Evelyn Stevens took what at first looked like a heavy fall. Thankfully, she was rapidly back onboard and hammering downwards as quickly as before.

Ina Teutenberg, who took seventh place yesterday, soon decided that the time was ripe for a breakaway and accelerated ahead, soon gaining an advantage of around five minutes. However, it was still early in the race and the peloton were content to let her go, confident that she would burn herself out on the multiple climbs as indeed proved to be the case. Unfortunately, the world hasn't quite got the whole gender equality thing sorted out just yet and so women's racing is largely ignored in comparison to men's; which means that at present we have very little data on what actually happened during the stage - thanks to Podium Cafe who seem to be the only news source to have got anything online as of yet and also to Amanda Miller of HTC-Highroad who, despite having actually been in the race today, found the energy to knock out a blogpost on it. We shall, hopefully, have more information tomorrow morning.

We predicted this morning that the stage would go to Marianne Vos, simply because no other female rider can absorb pain like she can, and we were correct. She really had no rivals up the evil-looking final couple of kilometres which resemble a vertical cliff rather than a road on the stage profile - while other riders concentrated on getting themselves up, Vos attacked all the way and reached the summit 19" before Emma Pooley, a rider with the power-to-weight ratio of a cheetah and who was the only rider able to keep anywhere near her. As a result, Vos regains the pink leader's jersey while also holding both the yellow (which in this race signifies Queen of the Mountains) and the points classification too.

Stage results:



1.   Marianne Vos (Netherlands) Nederland Bloeit, 2h58'04"
2.   Emma Pooley (UK) Garmin-Cervélo +19"
3.   Judith Arndt (Germany) HTC-Highroad +2'50"
4.   Rasa Leleivyte (Lithuania) Vaiano Solaristech - new youth classification leader
5.   Emma Johansson (Sweden) Hitec Products
6.   Ruth Corset (Australia) Bizkaia Durango
7.   Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) MCipollini-Giambenini 3-7 received same time
8.   Sylwia Kapusta (Poland) Gauss +2'59"
9.   Tatiana Antoshina (Russia) Gauss +3'12"
10. Fabiana Luperini (Italy) MCipollini-Giambenini +3'24"


Overall results:



1.   Marianne Vos (Netherlands) Nederland Bloeit 7h50'46"
2.   Sylwia Kapusta (Poland) Gauss +08"
3.   Emma Pooley (UK) Garmin-Cervélo +36"
4.   Shara Gillow (Australia) Bizkaia Durango +1'15"
5.   Sharon Laws (UK) Garmin-Cervélo +1'19"
6.   Grace Verbeke (Belgium) TopSport Vlaanderen +2'16"
7.   Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (France) Gauss +2'19"
8.   Judith Arndt (Germany) HTC-Highroad +3'07"
9.   Linda Villumsen (New Zealand) AA Drink-Leontien +3'12"
10. Emma Johansson (Sweden) Hitec +3'14"

Giro Donne: Stage 3 preview

Very interesting terrain for Stage 3 of the Giro Donne today: whereas there are no climbs bigger than 300m, there are a hell of a lot of them and they're all very steep indeed - in fact, the stage profile looks more like a short wavelength sine wave than an altitude profile.

Starting the day with a sharp descent of some 200m down to just above sea level may encourage another split if those riders with the skill to maintain control while plummeting earthwards use it as an opportunity to build up a big lead over the rest, a lead that should be easily maintained through the only flat section of the stage, a 10km blast along the seafront at Porto Potenza Picena which, with its classically Mediterranean architecture combined with modern facilties and blue harbour, is known as one of the most beautiful locations long this section of the Adriatic coastline - a reputation the local authorities are keen to retain, hence the regular refuse collections which have seen it awarded Blue Flag status for the high quality and cleanliness of the local beaches.

Porto Potenza Picenta

There'll be no time for a paddle though, no matter how much it'd relieve the discomfort of sweaty feet, because the parcours turns sharply inland and then becomes a roller coaster. It heads back over the same 200m climb and then into a fast descent back down to near sea level again before entering a very steep climb back up to around 200m, a categorised climb that, coming 35km into the race, is going to be the first of many tests.

Once into the municipality of Montelupone, things turn distinctly craggy with two sharp climbs before a steep sided valley which offers little respite, being just seven or eight km wide. Nevertheless, other than the flat seafront section, this is the only place where the sprinters will get a chance to shine today and a high speed battle is very likely. They'll soon be brought back to heel though, because the valley comes to an abrupt halt with the ascent of the next 200m peak. Then it's yet another plummet, this time to 100m above sea level in a valley so narrow there's virtually no flat land at all and then the day's second categorised climb up to around 220m. Anyone with any sense will try to give the old knees a bit of a breather on the way down because, over the next 20km, there's two more categorised hills with which to contend. Once more, they top out at around 200m but are so closely-spaced that the gradients are positively cruel. The next section is much the same, with a descent and then a climb of 100m or so before the final downhill.

Then, it's time for the real decider - a climb so steep it looks like a vertical wall on the profile, rising to around 319m in around 2.5km. This equals a gradient about as steep as a bicycle can be ridden up and, coming at the end of a 104.3km stage, may persuade a few riders at the back to abandon - though they'll hopefully bear in mind that the next couple of days feature far fewer climbs and derive from that sufficient comfort to stick it out. The stage finishes in the town of Fermo, which dates from 264BC and which has been besieged and conquered by various armies over the centuries; traces of its ancient defensive walls built of massive blocks of masonry without mortar can still be seen - for the riders, it may feel as though they're climbing the walls rather than the hill.

Morrovale

Along the way the races passes through Montelupone which, as a largely agricultural area, features many villages with little to offer other than beauty and as such are visited only in passing by tourists, thus leaving them unspoiled and quintessentially Italian. The best of them all, however, is a little further south at Morrovalle which is just about everything an Italian hilltop village ought to be. The Basilica of Santa Croce and the picturesque Jerusalem Tower of  Sant 'Elpidio a Mare are two of the most famous buildings in the area, as is the cathedral at Fermo.

So, likely winners today? Bearing in mind the harsh terrain which is going to favour those who are as happy climbing as they are descending and those who can keep going no matter how much it hurts, Marianne Vos is really the only choice as far as the cycling press are concerned and we're liable to agree because there are very few riders - among the men and the women - who have the ability to absorb pain that she has and she excels in all forms of road cycling. Emma Pooley, with her incredible power-to-weight ratio, will probably do well too, we'll happily predict a top five finish for her. Valentina Scandolara will be wanting to keep her Queen of the Mountains title and, with her performance on climbs far bigger than these, there's very little reason why she won't be able to do so. Vos and Scandolara in first and second (though not necessarily in that order) and Pooley in third seems a probable arrangement on the podium later to us.

Giro Donne: Stage 2 debrief

Shara Gillow is the new leader of the Giro Donne

Stage 2 of the Giro Donne may as well have been two separate races after the riders split themselves into a main group and a fourteen woman breakaway which maintained an impressive lead and dominated from early in the 91km stage. Riders only broke rank on the day's big climb, the 900m ascent of Madonna Regina where Valentina Scandolara triumphed, guaranteeing another day in the Mountain Classification jersey for herself. The climb was too much for some riders and when the leaders regrouped once over the summit, five had fallen back to the peloton and more were shaken off when Polish ex-mountain biker Sylwia Kapusta launched an attack so fierce that only Australian Sharon Gillow and Britain's Sharon Laws were able to respond, the three pulling away and gradually building up an ever-increasing gap between themselves and the rest.

Kapusta misjudged, however, and when the end was within sight she didn't have the reserves left to take on Gillow and Laws who fought all the way to the line, with the 28-year-old Queenslander finding enough left over to fuel one last thrust. Laws responded, but she was just beaten - closely enough that she was awarded the same time as first place.

Kapusta came in 10 seconds later, looking exhausted, and she had evidently wanted first today must be feeling proud of an heroic effort. Marianne Vos, our tip for the top today, managed tenth place in the end despite a sprint finish that should have suited her well and so will now hand the pink leader's jersey over to Gillow. The 23-year-old Queenslander was one of the less well-known names on the women's racing circuit but has become a formidable presence, winning the Oceania Road Race Championships and Australian National Time Trial. Let's hope she doesn't value anonymity, because when a rider makes an impact like she has so far this year the world will take notice.

Stage results:


1. Shara Gillow (Australia) Bizkaia-Durango 2h3’48”
2. Sharon Laws (UK) Garmin-Cervélo same time
3. Sylwia Kapusta (Poland) Gauss-RDZ-Ormu +10s
4. Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (France) Gauss-RDZ-Ormu +46s
5. Grace Verbeke (Belgium) Topsport Vlaanderen 2012-Ridley +48”
6. Andrea Dvorak (USA) Colavita-Forno d’Asolo +57”
7. Ina Teutenberg (Germany) HTC-Highroad +1’06”
8. Valentina Scandolara (Italy) Gauss-RDZ-Ormu +1’09”
9. Linda Villumsen (New Zealand) AA Drink-Leontien +1’32”
10. Marianne Vos (Netherlands) Nederland Bloeit +3’18”


General Classification:



1. Shara Gillow 4h49'35"  
2. Sharon Laws +04"  
3. Sylwia Kapusta +16 "
4. Christel Ferrier-Bruneau +56"  
5. Grace Verbeke +58" 
6. Ina Teutenberg +1'10" 
7. Andrea Dvorak +1'30"  
8. Linda Villumsen +1'42" 
9. Valentina Scandolara +1'50"  
10. Marianne Vos +3'17"

Giro Donne: Stage 2 preview

It's a pity, really, that the Giro Donne - which has become the most important stage race in women's cycling since other prestigious races met their demise (usually due to lack of interest from sponsors) - takes place when it does, because there's some other race starting off in France today and it tends to get all the attention. Cycling fans would be well advised to keep at least a partial watch on the Italian action if they can do so whilst in the grips of Tour fever, because today's Stage 2 is the definition of "a real humdinger."

Abruzzo could have been made with cycling in mind.

Taking place in the mountainous Abruzzo region, right in the middle of Italy where it includes a big chunk of the Appennino Centrale, the day begins and ends at Pescocostanzo - but a time trial it certainly ain't. The terrain is used to great effect, creating a 91km stage that features both enormous climbs and equally enormous descents, doing so not by the inclusion of a high mountain but with a deep valley. Pescostanzo lies 1395m above sea level, high enough to catch out any riders who've been neglecting the altitude training before they even get started, and features a short descent of around a hundred metres in a few kilometres just outside town - while it's unlikely that anyone will want to really push the boat out in such an early section of the stage, it ought to be enough to spread the riders out a little. Yesterday, they all seemed happy enough to ride as a group for the greater part of the day, but once the field is broken up into leading and following groups we may well see some early attacks taking place as team leaders send out fast domestiques to test the form of rivals.

Look for climbing ability when choosing
your favourites for today. Having won
the Mountains classification in the Tour
du Grand Montréal in 2007, German 25-
year-old Claudia Häusler is a definite
contender.

Next comes a relatively flat section of 10km where the altitude hovers around the 1300m, then the day's main descent. Anyone who feels especially comfortable riding fast downhill and built up a small advantage coming out of Pescoconstanzo will have an opportunity to turn it into a big advantage here, because this descent is equally the equal of anything in the Tour de Suisse or even Tour de France - in fact, this could be one of the most exciting features of any race taking place today, and on a day like today that's really saying something. The route drops from 1300m to 400m in 24km to the poet Ovid's homecity Sulmona, also the home of confetti, the sweet sugared almonds which have become associated with the city and which the riders may find are passed to them by local fans turning out to see the race.

Big leads are not necessarily the same thing as safe leads in this race though, because any rider who has one and wishes to maintain it is going to need to be ready to endure the pain of a serious climb back out of the valley: it's back up to almost 1300m over the following 18km to reach the summit of Madonna Regina once the route has turned back into the Majella National Park, considered by many to be the most beautiful part of Abruzzo which is itself considered one of the most beautiful parts of Italy and where wolves and lynxes are still to be found, albeit in tiny numbers. Maybe a few'll give chase to help persuade any stragglers that riding fast up the mountain is a good idea. Another steep descent down to 900m follows before a climb back up to 1400m in 8km, giving an average gradient of 4.8km which, while not an especially steep hill, would test the thigh muscles of any rider at this late stage.

Britain's Emma Pooley is small,
light and very, very fit - which
may prove to give her a big
advantage today.

By this time, we should have a good idea of what the general classification is going to look like once today is over: the sprinters will have dropped right back from the top ten today as the grimpeurs take precedence and dominate the leadership board. However, those same sprinters - assuming they have the energy after today's ordeal - do have one final chance to earn some points because once the last big climb is over there's a gradual downhill section which, losing 100m in about 7km, should suit the faster riders rather well. The climbers, having got up there first, may already be on the next section but sprinters further back will be able to make up some of the difference here. That last section  features a final climb of just over 100m back to Pescoconstanzo. If the race hasn't already been decided by means of a huge lead built up in the big climbs earlier on, it could still be fought and lost here.

Who'll do well today? Marianne Vos will, because that's what she does - Scarlett Callovi said "Marianne Vos is unbeatable" after yesterday's stage. British champion Lizzie Armitstead may put in a good show too, because there are not so many climbers among female cyclists as there are among the men so her endurance racing skills may give her the tolerance for pain to keep going up the mountains when others need to slacken off the pace. Then there's Emma Pooley, who may be more of a Classics specialist but weighs just 50kg and is super fit, a combination which can count for a very great deal on this sort of terrain. But, with such an impressive starting list, nothing is certain at this time.

Giro Donne set to be as good as le Tour

Can't wait for the action to get under way at the Tour de France? So excited you feel like you've just eaten a box of pills you found in Willy Voet's car glovebox? Friends and family already annoyed by your obsession?

Well, you can satisfy the craving simply enough, because there are actually two Grand Tour cycle races starting this week, and one of them starts this morning. It's the Giro Donne, also known as the Giro d'Italia Femminile, and today's stage features 86km of high-speed action from the stunning Italian countryside between Rome and Velletri where vineyards cover the rolling hills and castles are plentiful. Along the way, riders will pass through Castel Gandolfo which has been voted one of Italy's most beautiful towns and is the location of the pope's summer residence. Catholic riders may be hoping his presence will attract some divine assistance, because to get there they need to complete a steep climb to 425m.

Emma Pooley, one of the fastest women in cycling

There are a number of British entries in the race, some of them among the favourites to stand on the top step of the podium in San Francesco del Campo on the 10th of July. Among them are Emma Pooley who won the women's Flèche Wallonne last year and who will be accompanied by a crack Garmin-Cervelo team assembled from the best female cyclists in British racing, put together purely to help her win this race. Team members include Sharon Laws, Lucy Martin and Lizzie Armitstead who, so far this year, has been crowned British Road Race champion and won the Tour of Chongming Island. Pooley has stated that she considers this race to be the most prestigious in women's cycling and will be giving it everything she's got - and as anyone who has seen her race knows, she has a lot packed into her petite frame.

...and she'll need to be too, since Marianne Vos and Nicole Cooke are also after the top spot on the podium .

US National champion Shelley Olds is also taking part, as are ex-UCI World Champion Marianne Vos who will be many people's favourite for the general classification win and Nicole Cooke, the Welsh nine-time British champion and twice Tour de France Feminin winner who has been battling to regain the form that saw her take first place here in 2004. With a field made up of these seven, along with 119 women at the very pinnacle of modern competitive cycling and some challenging stages - 2,3 and 8 (with a summit finish at around 1,750m) all look like killers - the Giro Donne is set to be every bit as interesting as the Tour.

In fact, while it's often said that the race is overshadowed by the Tour and largely forgotten as a result, the sheer quality of women's racing at the moment may well see the Giro taking attention from her French brother for the next ten days.