Demi Vollering wins shortened Giro d’Italia queen stage after ice threat
Demi Vollering sprinted to victory on a dramatically shortened penultimate stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia on Saturday after an avalanche threat forced organisers to move the finish line.
The eighth stage was originally scheduled to conclude with a gruelling summit finish in Sestriere.
However, race officials reduced the route by 28 kilometres as an unstable slab of ice threatened to fall onto the course in the Italian Alps.
Road crews had already been forced to clear debris from an earlier avalanche shortly before the peloton passed through the region.
Avalanche threat forces hasty finish
The finish line was hastily relocated to one kilometre below the Colle delle Finestre.
In a tightly contested four-way sprint, the 29-year-old FDJ United-Suez rider edged out Isabella Holmgren, Antonia Niedermaier and overall race leader Anna van der Breggen.
This success marks the second stage victory of the current tour for the Dutch pre-race favourite.
“It was strange because the Finestre was suddenly the final climb. It was the weirdest finish line of my life, but I’m very happy to take the win.”
Van der Breggen defends pink jersey
Despite missing out on the stage win, Van der Breggen successfully retained the coveted maglia rosa heading into Sunday’s finale.
The four-time Giro winner now holds a slender 49-second advantage over her compatriot at the top of the general classification.
The 145km final stage will take the riders around Saluzzo at the foot of the Alps.
“We hoped that we could get closer to the maglia rosa today. Tomorrow’s stage is not as hard as today’s, but we will make a plan and think about how to try to win the Giro.”
Stage eight results
- Demi Vollering (Ned/FDJ United-Suez) 2hrs 27mins 47secs
- Isabella Holmgren (Can/Lidl-Trek) +1sec
- Antonia Niedermaier (Ger/Canyon-SRAM) Same time
- Anna van der Breggen (Ned/SD Worx-Protime) Same time
- Femke de Vries (Ned/Visma-Lease a Bike) +53secs
General classification
- Anna van der Breggen (Ned/SD Worx-Protime) 26hrs 8mins 24secs
- Demi Vollering (Ned/FDJ United-Suez) +49secs
- Antonia Niedermaier (Ger/Canyon-SRAM) +1min 20secs
- Isabella Holmgren (Can/Lidl-Trek) +1min 55secs
- Marlen Reusser (Swi/Movistar) +2mins 58secs