On paper, stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia Donne was certain to end in a sprint as the day’s only difficulty was a third-category climb over 70 km from the finish. However, the stage final raised concerns as it was very technical and could be dangerous if raced by a full peloton.
After a 90-degree right-hand turn with 2.1 km to go, the race crossed the city centre of Modena on a cobbled street, but this was one long straight. More concerning was what came after the flamme rouge: A sharp 120-degree turn in which the road narrowed to only one lane was followed by a left-hand turn onto a cobbled forecourt, the roadway again narrowing to about three metres at the entrance to the Parco Piazza d’Armi Novi Sad.
Once through the narrow entrance, the final 700 metres would be on a wide asphalt track, going around three-quarters of the park in a sweeping left-hander.
With rider safety a growing concern after the death of Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious), the UCI and other cycling stakeholders launched the SafeR campaign just two days ago, and nobody wanted to expose the Giro Donne peloton to unnecessary risks.
On the evening before the stage, an agreement was reached between the race organisers and the riders’ union CPA Women to neutralise the finish, taking times for the general classification at the one-kilometre mark. This also meant that there would be no time bonifications at the intermediate sprint or at the finish, but the stage victory was still up for grabs.
The race was very much on until the flamme rouge and the high speed and technical route split the peloton into several groups that would normally have been given the time they finished behind the winner.
Without the neutralisation, riders would have taken risks to avoid losing time here, possibly causing crashes and injuries – the neutralisation meant that riders not targeting the stage win could take it a bit easier mitigating the risks posed by the finish.
As it was, the only crash in the final happened 50 metres from the line when Letizia Paternoster (Team Jayco AlUla) and Maria Martins (Fenix-Deceuninck) did not see each other and collided, sending Paternoster into a somersault crash.
Fortunately, Paternoster did not sustain any serious injuries. She only suffered a bit of road rash and was able to smile about the incident after the race.
