'I had nothing to lose' - Anna Henderson makes her own luck with Giro d'Italia Women's stage victory

Anna Henderson was all smiles after stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia Women: Not only had she won the stage from a two-rider breakaway with Dilyxine Miermont (Ceratizit), but the 26-year-old Briton also rode herself into the maglia rosa as the new overall leader.

The victory had been a long time coming for Henderson, who decided to make her own luck.

“I said to my boyfriend this morning that I had nothing to lose. I’ve been waiting all year to kind of come fifth in the sprint. I wasn’t going to wait around and just took the opportunity when I saw it,” Henderson said after the stage.

She had finished sixth on the stage 1 individual time trial and was only 27 seconds behind GC leader Marlen Reusser (Movistar) going into the 92km race from Clusone to Aprica.

“I knew it would be a small chance I could get away with me being quite close to the GC. Then they gave us three minutes, and I couldn’t believe it. We just kept working really well to the finish, and I’m super happy to finish it off for the team,” Henderson continued.

Henderson then stepped onto the podium to receive the pink jersey as the new overall leader, a feat that she called an 'added bonus' after working so hard to win the stage.

“I’m over the moon. This is just an added bonus to what was already a great day. I’ve dreamed of wearing the leader’s jersey, and it’s come true. I’m so happy, I hope I’ll do it proud tomorrow,” Henderson said after the podium ceremony, still wearing her new maglia rosa.

“We knew it was a tailwind all the way in the valley, and once you made it over the steep climb, then it’s maybe 4 percent until the finish. We really believed that a breakaway could make it, and I am super happy that I was the one able to get it across the line,” she explained.

Going into stage 3, Henderson is 15 seconds ahead of Reusser. Although the stage starts with the Passo del Tonale, Henderson has a good chance of defending her GC lead as the last 100km of the stage are downhill or flat.

“I will enjoy it tomorrow. I just had a cramp in my leg on the stage, so we will see how tomorrow goes and just take it day by day,” the new race leader was looking forward to racing in pink.

While Henderson went to the team bus with the stage winner’s trophy and the pink jersey as well as the red points jersey and blue mountain jersey, Miermont was left empty-handed.

She did not even get awarded the combativity prize, which went to third-placed Soraya Paladin (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto). Nevertheless, the 25-year-old Frenchwoman was satisfied with her day.

“I’m happy with second place, but I wanted to win. We’re in the Giro to take stages. Anna is very fast in the sprint, so I knew it would be difficult to win. I gave it my all, and I have no regrets,” Miermont said.

She had initiated the attack that turned into the stage-winning move and shared the work with Henderson when they were away.

“To win stages, it’s important to anticipate the leaders. I wanted to attack to try to win. The plan was to attack after the climb in the middle of the stage. That’s what I did, and it worked. I got along well with Anna, we each took turns, and the gap quickly grew,” explained Miermont.

With Henderson in the virtual lead and Miermont far behind in GC, there could have been an agreement to share the spoils with Henderson getting the pink jersey and leaving the stage for Miermont, but both riders went all-in for the stage instead. Henderson made her priorities clear when she stayed in Miermont’s wheel on the last 1.3km.

“We didn’t talk; I think that she and I just wanted to go for the victory. I understood that she didn’t want to let me win when she stopped taking over in the end,” said Miermont.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our Giro d'Italia Women coverage. Don't miss any of the breaking news, reports, and analysis from one of the biggest women's stage races of the season. Find out more.