Anna van der Breggen eliminates 12 riders from the Giro d'Italia Donne

Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) during the time trial at the Giro d'Italia Donne
Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) during the time trial at the Giro d'Italia Donne (Image credit: Getty Images)

Anna van der Breggen's (SD Worx) winning time of 24:58 at the stage 4 mountain time trial on Monday has effectively eliminated a large swathe of riders from the Giro d'Italia Donne.

Twelve riders were cut from the race based on the maximum time limit regulations set at 30 per cent of the winner's time for the 11.2km time trial between Formazza and Riale di Formazza - meaning that anyone who finished 7:49 slower than Van der Breggen was out of the race and cannot start stage 5 on Tuesday.

"After a very tough day in the mountain TT, we're sad to say we lost a rider today to the time cut – by 16 seconds...," Rally Cycling wrote on Twitter regarding their rider Holly Breck.

The stage 4 time trial was held along an 11.2km route and while many riders who were not in contention of a top placing opted to use road bikes, those who marked the event  success used a full time trial set up.

Van der Breggen covered the course in 24:58 to beat her SD Worx teammate Demi Vollering by 1:05 and third-placed Grace Brown (Team BikeExchange) by 1:16 in Riale Di Formazza Cascate Del Toce.

The victory increased Van der Breggen's lead in the overall classification to a nearly unassailable 2:51 minutes over her teammate Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and 3:03 minutes over Vollering. Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo), who opted to use a road bike, is now in fourth place at 5:53 minutes behind in the overall.

The 30 per cent time cut limit rule meant that anyone who wasn't within 7:49 minutes of  the world champion's time was eliminated from the 10-day race. Race officials stuck to their guns on the rule, cutting 12 riders from the event while there are still with six stages to go, as the race concludes on July 11 in Cormons.

The last rider to make it to the top  of the climb inside the time limit was Danique Braam (Lotto Soudal Ladies), who finished in 126th place at 7:30 slower than van der Breggen.

The 12 riders who were time cut included Elizabeth Holden (Bizkaia-Durango), Holly Breck (Rally Cycling), Sandra Alonso Dominguez (Bizkaia-Durango), Sheyla Gutierrez Ruiz (Movistar Team Women), Chiara Consonni (Valcar-Travel & Service), Caris Cosentino (Born to Win G20 Ambedo), Elise Vander Sande (Lotto Soudal Ladies), Iurani Blanco Calbet (Bizkaia-Durango), Ariana Gilabert Vilaplana (Bizkaia-Durango), Maëlle Grossetete (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), Francesca Balducci (Born to Win G20 Ambedo)  and Michela Balducci (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo).

The racing continues for 126 riders with the stage 5 122km race from Milano to Carugate where it is anticipated to be a bunch sprint on Tuesday.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Results
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
OTLElizabeth Holden (GBr) Bizkaia-Durango
OTLHolly Breck (USA) Rally Cycling
OTLSandra Alonso Dominguez (Spa) Bizkaia-Durango
OTLSheyla Gutierrez Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team Women
OTLChiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
OTLCaris Cosentino (Ita) Born to Win G20 Ambedo
OTLElise Vander Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
OTLIurani Blanco Calbet (Spa) Bizkaia-Durango
OTLAriana Gilabert Vilaplana (Spa) Bizkaia-Durango
OTLMaëlle Grossetete (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
OTLFrancesca Balducci (Ita) Born to Win G20 Ambedo
OTLMichela Balducci (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Kirsten Frattini
Women's Editor

Kirsten Frattini is an honours graduate of Kinesiology and Health Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's WorldTour. She has worked in both print and digital publishing, and started with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. Moving into a Production Editor's role in 2014, she produces and publishes international race coverage for all men's and women's races including Spring Classics, Grand Tours, World Championships and Olympic Games, and writes and edits news and features. As the Women's Editor at Cyclingnews, Kirsten also coordinates and oversees the global coverage of races, news, features and podcasts about women's professional cycling.