Pooley wins atop San Domenico di Varzo

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Emma Pooley won the eighth stage in the Giro Rosa, beating Mara Abbott of UnitedHealthcare and Rabo-Liv's Anna van der Breggen on a mountain top finish in San Domenico di Varzo. Marianne Vos lost time today but keeps the lead in the Giro Rosa with one stage to go.

"I didn't start with the idea I could win the stage, my main goal was to keep the green [mountain] jersey," Pooley said on her Lotto-Belisol team's website. "This victory is really nice for me and the team."

A peloton of 138 riders started the penultimate stage of this Giro Rosa. With a 13-kilometre long final climb, it was deemed the queen stage of this year's ten-day stage race. Between the start in Verbania, on the shores of the iconic Lake Maggiore and the uphill finish in San Domenico di Varzo the peloton had to travel 90,3 kilometres.

In the early part of the stage the peloton stayed togethe,m but it was a hectic day. Though the course profile towards the final appeared to be relatively flat, the Lombardia region never really is. Pooley praised her Lotto-Belisol teammates for the work they did in postioning her for the final climb.

"With the team we stayed at the front, because it was going very fast and there were lots of attacks. The road went up and down the whole time. Jolien D'Hoore, Liesbet De Vocht and Sarah Rijkes looked after me. Afterwards the race got less hectic and we came on a terrain that was rather flat. My teammates took me to the front before the climb towards the finish."

At 1,400 metres the climb to San Domenico di Varzo was the highest point of this year's race. Though officially 13 kilometres in length, the road started climbing at 20 kilometres from the finish line. At 8 percent average but getting towards 12 per cent average in the final two kilometres, the battle for the overall classification would be really taking off today.

"When we started the climb I waited, tried to conserve energy and be relaxed. I benefited a bit from the GC tactics. I stayed in the wheels of those going for GC. In the end I was alone in front with Mara Abbott, who won the Giro Rosa last year. Then I started raising the tempo, because I wanted to make her tired. At that point I wanted to win the stage, certainly after all the work the girls did for me," Pooley said.

Last year Mara Abbott won this stage and secured her overall victory in the Giro Rosa. This year the American was there in the final of the stage again. Among the first riders on the final climb were also pink jersey Marianne Vos and her Rabo-Liv teammates, van der Breggen and Ferrand Prevo, Emma Pooley and Boels-Dolmans's Megan Guarnier. Eventually Pooley managed to drop everyone on her way to victory though Abbott came very close to the 31-year old from Britain.

"I didn't really attack I just rode harder. It wasn't a sprint at the end. Just by raising the pace I apparently had created a gap. I didn't even put my hands in the air, because I was sure she was coming so I didn't have time for that."

Abbott finished in second place with Rabo-Liv's Anna van der Breggen in third.

The Giro Rosa ends tomorrow with a short 80,1 kilometre stage to the famous Il Lombardia climb to Madonna di Ghisallo. Vos lost time on Ferrand Prevot today and only has 16 seconds left on her 22-year old teammate in the overall. Rabo-Liv's third captain Anna van der Breggen is now third at 1:17. Mara Abbott climbs two places to fourth at 1:39.

"We are now 1, 2 and 3," Rabo-Liv sports director Koos Moerenhout told Cyclingnews. "Nothing is yet decided. Our first priority is to take home the pink jersey and we will not attack each other," he said referring Vos, Ferrand Prevot and Van der Breggen.

"On the other hand the climb to Madonna del Ghisallo doesn't lie. Today Marianne lost 1:28 on the winner which we didn't expect. Tomorrow's climb should suit her better. We have top riders and took time on our rivals at other moments in the race but a rider like Mara Abbott is still someone to reckon with," Moerenhout concluded.

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