Warm reception as crowds catch glimpse of their favourites ahead of 4.7km prologue
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FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Mavi Garcia - UAE Team ADQ - at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Basso Bikes - Vaiano at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Bizkaia Durango at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Bepink at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Top Girls Fassa Bortolo at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Colombia Tierra de Atletas - GW - Shimano at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Trek - Segafredo at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
BikeExchange - Jayco at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Valcar - Travel & Service at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Elena Cecchini (SD Worx) at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Team DSM at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team) at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Canyon - SRAM Racing at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Movistar Team at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Cagliari, Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Team SD Worx at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Elisa Longo Borghini and Elisa Balsamo at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
World Champion Elisa Balsamo at the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne Team Presentation in Sardinia(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
On the eve of the Giro d'Italia Donne, world-class riders and teams greeted the crowds at the events official team presentation held in Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia.
The Grand Depart of the Italian Grand Tour will be held on the popular tourist island beginning with a 4.7km prologue on Thursday where the first maglia rosa will be awarded to the winner.
Among the many champions to take the stage were two-time overall winner and race favourite Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), who announced earlier that day that she intends to retire from professional cycling at the end of 2023.
World Champion and newly crowned Italian Champion, Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) waved to the crowds assembled in the seaside capital city alongside her teammate and overall contender Elisa Longo Borghini.
In an exclusive Cyclingnews blog, Balsamo wrote about her excitement and expectations at competing in her first-ever Giro d'Italia where she aims to target several of the flatter stages during the 10-day event.
Compatriots Marta Cavalli (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) and Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) were also met with a warm reception by the late-afternoon fans out to catch a glimpse of their favourite athletes.
The 10-day stage race crosses through five regions of Italy – Sardinia, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto – for 1,002.6 kilometres of racing - before concluding in Padova on July 10.
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Click or swipe through the gallery above to see the teams presentation of the 2022 Giro d'Italia Donne.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
