Canyon-Sram will be heading into the Giro d’Italia Donne with four top ten finishers among its line up, including last year’s leading rider for the team, Elise Chabbey, who is fronting up to the race confident that her form and climbing prowess have stepped up this season.
Last year heading into the brutal second last stage, finishing on the steep slopes of Mount Matajur, Chabbey was fifth overall. That day she couldn’t keep pace with the key GC challengers and slipped back six spots on the overall, before putting herself back into the top ten with a third place on the lumpy final stage.
This year, however, the versatile 29-year-old will face up to the challenge of the climb-heavy days – with three tough ones in a row after the race hits the Alps on stage 7 – after some notable results this season in that area. These include mountains classification wins at the Women's Tour and Itzulia Women as well as a sixth place at the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge earlier this month.
“I have improved a lot physically and mentally and I’m going into this Giro in better shape than 2021,’ said Chabbey. “Unfortunately, I had a minor illness last week so I was not 100% at the Nationals but I feel like I’m back on track now."
“We have a strong team and we’ll see how everybody is feeling after a few stages. Personally, I would love to grab an opportunity from a break and go for a stage win. The longer climbs for GC aren’t my pure strength but I have also improved in that area too, showing that on Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenges that I can climb.”
Alongside Chabbey on the start line for Canyon-Sram on June 30 will be Alena Amialiusik, who takes on the longest stage-race on the women’s calendar for a 10th time, having twice finished in the top-ten overall. Soraya Paladin, with a best overall placing of ninth in 2019, is lining up for a ninth time while Mikayla Harvey, who won the youth classification and came fifth on the GC in 2020, will take to the start for a fourth time.
The team also includes experienced sprinter Sarah Roy, with four potential stages for the fast finishing riders – stage 2 and 3 in Sardinia, stage 5 to Reggio Emilia and the final day of racing to Padova. Neve Bradbury will be the only first-time rider in the squad, with the 2020 Zwift Academy winner securing a place in the line-up during her second season with the team.
“The Giro Donne wasn’t initially on my program at the start of the season, but it was a goal that I targeted. I knew that if I performed as well as I could in the races beforehand that my chances would increase,” said the 20-year-old Australian who came 11th overall at the Tour de Suisse Women. “It's a dream race of mine [to] do, I'm really excited to race. My goals are to really focus on recovery outside of the race, since this is my longest stage race by far so that I can support my teammate as best I can."
Kasia Niewiadoma – who came second overall in 2020 and in the past been the team's lead contender – will miss the Italian race for a second year. The return of the Tour de France Femmes, which starts just two weeks after the Giro Donne finishes on July 10, has meant a number of riders who have usually focussed on the Giro Donne will be skipping the event this year.
Canyon-Sram for the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne
- Alena Amialiusik
- Neve Bradbury
- Elise Chabbey
- Mikayla Harvey
- Soraya Paladin
- Sarah Roy
