Giro Rosa: World champion Ferrand-Prévot wins mountaintop finish in Aprica

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World champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Rabo Liv) climbed to victory at the first mountaintop finish of the Giro Rosa on Wednesday. The French rider attacked with just over two kilometres to go and crossed the finish line in Aprica with a solo victory. Megan Guarnier (Boels Dolmans) out-sprinted the chase group for second place with Anna van der Breggen (Rabo Liv) taking third on the day.

Overall race leader Guarnier started the day with a two-second advantage on Van der Breggen and thus has maintained her hold on the maglia rosa, and even increased her lead to five seconds. The American road champion has led the overall race since her stage 2 victory.  

The climbers were treated to their first uphill finish during stage 5, a 128.4km race that started in Trezzo Sull’Adda and finished on the long ascent to Aprica. The climb was not too steep and a small group was expected to arrive together, however, Ferrand-Prévot defied those initial predictions.

An initial breakaway reshuffled until it included Roxane Knetemann and Anouska Koster (Rabo-Liv), Claudia Lichtenberg (Liv-Plantur), Jasinska Malgorzta (Ale Cipollini), Tatyana Riabchenko and Anna Trevisi (Inpa Sottoli), Chantal Blaak (Boels Dolmans) and Amanda Spratt (Orica-AIS). The group built a lead of just under two minutes.

As the main field hit the base of the final 15km climb, Riabchenko was the only rider left out front. Her day in the breakaway came to an end, however, on the opening shallower slopes of the climb.

Former Giro Rosa winner Claudia Lichtenberg (Liv-Plantur) had enough left in the tank to make another move on the climb, but she too was reeled back in by the pace of the main field, which had dwindled to some 40 riders with five kilometres to go.

Katrin Garfoot (Orica-AIS) and Anouska Koster (Rabo-Liv) counter attacked and gained 15 seconds on the field. It looked like a move that might stick to the finish line but the field, which had been cut by half to 20 riders, brought them back with less than three kilometres remaining.

The colours of the world champion Ferrand-Prevot came to the fore, alongside Francesca Cauz (Ale Cipollini), who had attacked together and gained 15 seconds in the last two kilometres. 

Ferrand-Prévot pushed the pace in the last kilometre and gained the distance that she needed over her breakaway companion to take the stage win. Cauz was swarmed by the charging chasers before the finish line, where overall race leader Guarnier took the sprint for second place.

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