Giro d’Italia Donne stage 5: Lorena Wiebes sprints to her first stage win

Lorena Wiebes has a new win — in a new-to-her race — to add to her fast-growing palmares.

The 22-year old Dutch rider completed a well-executed attack by her DSM teammates late in the stage to seal victory on Tuesday at the Giro d’Italia Donne.

Also read: Everything you need to know about the Giro d’Italia Donne

Things you love to see: teammates celebrating in the background! ☺️🙌🏻 #KeepChallenging #GiroDonne pic.twitter.com/w1tqKF2hL2

— Team DSM (@TeamDSM) July 6, 2021

With just a kilometer to go, the Team DSM train, led by Leah Kirchmann and Coryn Rivera, sped to the front of the bunch, setting Wiebes up for a flawless finish.

“After the last corner they put the speed so high and especially Coryn, she put the speed so high, that I only had to sprint for 150 meters and that was enough,” Wiebes said in a post-race interview.

In fact, Rivera’s arms went up in the air before Wiebes’ as her teammate crossed the line ahead of Emma Norsgaard (Team Movistar) in second, and Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) in third.

🥈 2nd again, but always with a smile on her face.

🙌 Kudos to @SamartinmartinA for her outstanding job closing the gap with the break.#GiroDonne | #RodamosJuntos pic.twitter.com/SJ766vHyV8

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) July 6, 2021

A small break of six including Silvia Zanardi, Matilde Vitillo (Bepink), Noemi Lucrezia Eremita (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria), Maria Novolodskaia (AR Monex), Giorgia Vettorello (Top Girls Fassa Bartolo) and Federica Damiana Piergiovanni (Valcar-Travel & Service) turned up the heat late in the 120km day; however, the peloton didn’t allow the group much of a lead.

Then, it was Russian rider Novolodskaia who drove away from the group of five Italians, but her attack left her stranded three kilometers from the finish. Her move set up the bunch sprint, with Team DSM hitting the front at two kilometers, delivering Wiebes to the finish with an exceptional lead-out.

Looking forward to stage 6

SD Worx retains a 1-2-3 position in the general classification, with Anna van der Breggen, Ashleigh Moolman Pasio, and Demi Vollering on the GC podium.

Wednesday’s stage offers more for the classics riders; the 155km course is nearly all undulating, punchy terrain. In her post-race interview, Wiebes hinted that it might be a day to repay a teammate’s favor.

“I think tomorrow is a nice day also for Coryn because she’s better in the hills,” she said. “There’s another flat stage, so I will go for that. We have a strong team, so we’ll go for more stage wins.”