Chapman suffers asthma attack that 'had her by the throat' at Giro d'Italia Donne

Brodie Chapman (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) suffered an asthma attack during stage 10 at the Giro d'Italia Donne. Chapman confirmed that the asthma attack forced her to abandon mid-race during the final day of racing into Cormons.

"Well, my Giro d'Italia Donne ended rapidly and unexpectedly. A full-on asthma attack in the first 10km had me by the throat and there’s literally nothing else you can focus on except trying to breathe and stay upright," Chapman wrote in a post on Twitter.

Stage 10 was the final day of racing at the 10-day Giro d'Italia Donne. The peloton tackled 113 kilometres from Capriva del Friuli to Cormons.

The peloton set out of Capriva del Friuli and contested a shorter loop that included a category 3 ascent over Sovenza (15.7km). Next was a larger loop that included three more category 3 ascents at Ruttars (31.8km, 67.8km and 104km) before finishing on a descent and run-in to Cormons.

Chapman said she experienced symptoms of an asthma attack just 10 kilometres into the stage that forced her off her bike unable to breathe.

"I was calm and motivated before today’s final stage and I loved the hard lap style. It’s not like when you are having a bad moment you can push through, it feels like a moment of 'breathe out, or at all, and survive'. The legs go lactic right away and I knew I was doomed," Chapman said.

It was a tough week for FDJ  Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope. Their overall leader Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig crashed during the opening team time trial and sustained bruising. Although she continued to race for the subsequent six stages, she had to pull out of the race ahead of the stage 8 start in San Vendemiano. In addition, Maëlle Grossetête finished the stage 4 time trial out of the time limit, and along with 11 other riders, could not start stage 5.

The team had some highlight moments that included Marta Cavalli winning the top Italian rider competition after placing in the top 10 on four of the 10 stages. In addition, French champion Évita Muzic finished 10th on stage 9 and Eugénie Duval also finished in the top 20 on three stages.