Published September 15, 2020 02:30PM
Right on time for the world championships at the end of September, Marianne Vos has found her form. Vos claimed her second stage win at the Giro Rosa on stage five in a reduced bunch sprint into Terracina.
Lotte Kopecky (Lotto Soudal Ladies), who has also shown some strong form this season, was second in the sprint followed by Trek-Segafredo’s Lizzie Deignan.
On the fifth day of the Giro Rosa, the riders rolled out of Terracina for a 110 kilometer spin around the western coast of Italy. Two categorized climbs sat at 54.5km and 87.9km, with a relatively flat run to the finish, the sprinters were hoping that they would finally get a chance at victory. However, the first of the two climbs lasted 16-kilometers and was the main obstacle for the sprinters to get to the finish with a shot at the win.
It was an aggressive start to the day. A few teams attempted to get a rider in front of the race, however, it was Markéta Hájková of BePink and Ale BTC Ljubljana’s Malgorzata Jasinska who managed to break away from the peloton. Jasinska was aggressive in stage one of the Giro Rosa but her attempts fell short.
The same fate met Jasinska and her breakaway companion Hájková, as the peloton never let them gain more than 40 seconds and brought them back on the first of the two GPMs.
Once again Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope took maximum points over the climb and continued to close the points gap to Annemeik van Vleuten.
On the second and seemingly less consequential climb of the day Elisa Longo Borghini of Trek-Segafredo attacked. The loss of the pink jersey after stage two was not one she took lightly, and she has consistently been at the front of the race for the third and fourth stages.
Unfortunately, Longo Borghini only made it to 3km to go before she was brought back.
Deja vú set in, and Marianne Vos took her second victory of this year’s Giro Rosa and her 27th stage win in the Giro Rosa in her career.
Tomorrow’s stage six of the Giro Rosa is on the shorter side, at only 97.5-kilometers, from Torre del Greco on the western coast to Nola. With 66km to go the peloton tackles a category three climb, and as it’s so far from the finish, it might be another chance for the likes of Lotte Kopecky, Coryn Rivera, and Emma Norsgaard. That is if they can be quicker than Vos.
Top 10, stage 5
1. Marianne Vos CCC, 2:47:27
2. Lotte Kopecky LSL, st
3. Lizzie Deignan TSF, st
4. Coryn Rivera SUN, st
5. Lisa Brennauer, st
6. Alison Jackson SUN, st
7. Sandra Alonso CDO, st
8. Amy Pieters DLT, st
9. Jelena Eric MOV, st
10. Victoria Guazzini VAL, st
Top 10, GC
1. Annemiek van Vleuten MLT
2. Katarzyna Niewiadoma CSR, +1:56
3. Anna van der Breggen DLT, +2:03
4. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig FDJ, +3:03
5. Mikayla Harvey EPK, 4:21
6. Elisa Longo Borghini TSF, +4:32
7. Ashleigh Moolman Pasio CCC, +4:34
8. Mavi García ALE, +4:38
9. Marianne Vos CCC, +5:19
10. Elise Chabbey EPK, +5:36