As it happened: The sprinters come to the fore again in stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia Women
Another day for the sprinters along a 146km route from Roncade H-Farm to Caorle
Good morning, we're back for stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia, stay with us all day for live updates.
Well, it wasn't just the racing which created the drama for yesterday's stage.
Elisa Balsamo was declared the winner after Lorena Wiebes was ejected from the race.
Lidl-Trek's Italian sprinter will now start the race in the leader's maglia rosa.
"It's not the way I want to win," she said.
As for Lorena Wiebes, her SD Worx-Protime team are "astonished."
The peloton had a late finish last night after a long transfer as we head north, the other side of Venice for another day that could well be a bunch sprint finish.
Rolling out at 10:55CET we have 156km on the cards today, starting in Roncade, just east of Treviso before finishing in Caorle. And we'll see the first classified climb of the race the Muro di Ca' del Poggio.
We're rolling. Today's neutralised zone is a long one, at 10km. It's another warm one today, with 29º forecast later in the day and once again, the chance of thunder storms.
For today's stage the route takes the peloton north into the very edge of the Venetian Alps for the day's only climb. That won't affect the race much though, as we then drop south all the way back to the coast, to Caorle, east of Venice.
If you've heard of today's climb, the Muro di Ca' del Poggio that's because it's featured in the Giro before.
In the 2017 race Hannah Barnes sprinted to victory in San Vendemiano, after climbing it.
And if you followed the men's Giro it was raced last Thursday.
After a frantic start we have three riders up the road.
Eleonora La Bella (AromItalia Vaiano) and the Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo pair of Elisa de Vallier and Sara Luccon are one minute head of the peloton.
There's a pair of chasers though, Afghan champion, Fariba Hashimi (Vini Fantini-BePink) and Girogia Serena (Medelspeck-E Work) are bang in the middle of the gap.
And another chaser is in on the action now, Josie Nelson (Picnic-PostNL) is just behind Hashimi and Serena.
As it stands La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon lead Hashimi and Serena by 42 seconds, with Nelson at 1.05 and the peloton at 1.25.
The leaders have raced 16km.
La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon lead the peloton by 1.25.
Hashimi and Serena have been caught by Nelson and they trail the leaders by 42 seconds. Nelson has a big engine and could well help them get to the front.
140km to go
The peloton seem happy with the two breakaways up the road.
They've allowed La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon a lead of 4.10, while Hashimi, Serena and Nelson are 1.27 behind the leaders and losing ground very slightly.
130km to go
The leaders' advantage is now almost five minutes on the peloton, while the chasing trio remain around 1.25 behind.
Before we head for the hill, there's an intermediate sprint coming up first.
It's on a straight piece of road with 110km to go in the village of Cimadolmo.
Thankfully there are no roundabouts to put it on like yesterday's sprint.
This gap really is a huge one.
Eleonora La Bella (AromItalia Vaiano), Elisa de Vallier (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) and Sara Luccon (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) lead the pelton by six minutes, with Fariba Hashimi (Vini Fantini-BePink), Girogia Serena (Medelspeck-E Work) and Josie Nelson (Picnic-PostNL) at 1.18.
120km to go
Either the timing is out or Hashimi, Serena and Nelson are losing ground again, their deficit is back out to 1.45.
With such a huge lead over the pelton, there is a case for the leaders easing off a little and allowing the chasing group to catch them, with six at the front they might have a chance.
As stage one was, today's stage might be flat, but there are challenges in the mountains coming up.
From a mountain time trial to the first visit to an iconic climb – Analysing the key stages of the Giro d'Italia Women.
It's a fast old day out there, the average speed is 42.9km/h.
La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon lead Hashimi, Serena and Nelson by 2.06 and the peloton by 6.28.
110km to go
Sara Luccon (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) won the day's intermediate sprint.
The next obstacle of the day is the climb of the Muro di Ca' del Poggio. It's a tough one, short but sharp it's one kilometre at an average gradient of 11.5%.
The top is 89.1km from the finish, and we can expect the breakaway's lead to drop a litttle once the pelton are over it.
There's no substantive change in the race situation.
Eleonora La Bella (AromItalia Vaiano), Elisa de Vallier (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo), Sara Luccon (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) lead by 6.25.
Fariba Hashimi (Vini Fantini-BePink), Girogia Serena (Medelspeck-E Work) and Josie Nelson (Picnic-PostNL) are in the gap 2.43 beind the leaders.
100km to go
Though the climb is still a few kilometres up the road, the've been dragging uphill on a false flat for some time now. There's a slight tail wind, though that'll be a headwind when they turn south later in the day.
We'll be on the climb very soon indeed, and, as predicted the peloton have taken time out of the leaders, it's only 5.48 now.
La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon lead Hashimi, Serena and Nelson by 2.28 with the peloton at 5.48.
The leaders are going uphill now.
90km to go
Over the top of the climb and La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon have a gap of almost four minutes on Hashimi, Serena and Nelson with the peloton breathing right down their necks.
At the front of the race De Vallier has been dropped while further back Hashimi, Serena and Nelson have been caught by the peloton.
Ignore that last post. La Bella won the climb and will be awarded the maglia azzura of the mountains classification leader.
While Hashimi, Serena and Nelson have been caught by the peloton, they are now less than twow minutes behind the leaders.
After the climb we drop down to Vittorio Veneto. The town hosted the start of stage 8 of the 2019 race.
That day Lizzy Banks won with a 10km solo in the pouring rain.
Eleonora La Bella (AromItalia Vaiano), Elisa de Vallier (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo), Sara Luccon (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) are under pressure now, the peloton is only 1.10 behind.
80km to go
We've had a few lumpy hills since the top of the main climb, but the front of the race is over them now. The route takes them nothing east for a little while, before taking a right turn on the edge of Vittorio Veneto.
The lead for La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon is now below one minute for the first time.
The gap has increased slightly again, the three leaders now have 1.13 over the bunch.
La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon now lead by 1.40.
It would have been unusual for the peloton to catch them with so far to go, it's not like yesterday's stage with 50km on a closing circuit, the race is straight into the finish town.
Expect the break to left hanging for some time yet.
70km to go
That gap is well and truly back out now, suggesting the peloton raced hard for the climb.
La Bella, De Vallier, Luccon lead by 2.20.
The breakaway's advantage has settled around 2.20.
They're riding into a 7km/h headwind with the temperature around 28º for now. There is an increasing chance of rain as the stage goes on.
60km to go
Of the breakaway riders are well down on the general classification time, but Elisa De Vallier (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) started the day only 10 seconds down.
That makes her the virtual general classification leader, though it is very unlikely the breakaway will win the stage later today.
The race has entered a period of calm before the storm.
The peloton are holding the three woman breakaway at around the two minute mark.
50km to go
It's almost completely pan flat from here until the line now. The finish in Caorle is on the coast, so one or two metres above sea level.
There'll be a cross head wind as the race approaches the cost, which turns to cross tail as they run along the beach inside the final 4km.
Sara Luccon had a busy start to the season. She was in the breakaway on three stages of the UAE Tour then at Omloop van het Hageland and Milan-San Remo.
There's no change in the race situation, Elonora La Bella (Aromitalia Vaiano), Elisa De Vallier and Sara Luccon (both Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) continue to lead the peloton by two minutes.
40km to go
The final is pretty straight forward until the last 4km. A long straight road takes us through the flat lands towards the coast before we take a 90º left hand turn at a roundabout just inside the last 4km.
We can expect the peloton to start upping the pace pretty soon. The breakaway are well under control, but they'll want them to be caught before they get into the finish town.
While some will see the chase as Lidl-Trek's responsibility, as they hold the overall lead with Elisa Balsamo, it will be interesting to see who finally takes it up.
Currently other teams are the front, the peloton spread across the road.
The pace is now up and the peloton's deficit coming down.
The peloton are now bringing the breakaway back, Eleonora La Bella (Aromitalia Vaiano), Elisa De Vallier and Sara Luccon (both Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) are only 50 seconds ahead.
20km to go
On the wide road plenty of teams are across the road, including SD Worx-Protime, who are now without sprinter, Lorena Wiebes after her disqualification.
The wind at the coast remains around the 12km mark, this won't create any echelon action, but it will be a headwind sprint, so timing for the fast women will be key.
The stage is designated as another sprint stage so the safety zone is at 5km again. This means that anyone suffering a mechanical or crash after that point will be credited with the same time as the riders they were with.
LIdl-Trek, Picnic-PostNL, SD Worx-Protime, Human Powered Health and UNO-X Mobility are among the teams on the front, now just 18 seconds behind the breakaway.
The breakaway are only 10 seconds ahead now, time's almost up for Eleonora La Bella (Aromitalia Vaiano), Elisa De Vallier and Sara Luccon (both Top Girls Fassa Bortolo).
15km to go
And the breakaway is caught, we're going to have a bunch kick, though we expected that.
There's real purpose on the front of the peloton now. Movistar are there possibly working for Arlenis Sierra, but certainly looking to keep Marlen Reusser safe.
FDJ United-SUEZ are there too, though Demi Vollering is hiding brilliantly.
The roads are still wide here and plenty of teams are populating the front of the race. Expect the pace to lift soon though, the road narrows in the town.
10km to go
After the chaos of the stage 1 circuit finish, this seems almost serenely calm. Still the same teams are there across the road. Movistar are on the right of the peloton, taking the brunt of what wind there is.
One sprint team not at the front yet is Charlotte Kool's Fenix-Premier Tech. They're half way down on the left side, well sheltered, but they'll need to move up soon.
Vollering is there in the safest place she can be, on the wheels of her FDJ United-SUEZ team mates.
We're into the action now, there's a roundabout coming up 4.5km from the line, though it's wide after that, positioning is essential now.
5km to go
We're approaching the left turn at the roundabout now, Positioning is key here as the road narrows as they head onto the sea front.
Picnic PostNL hit the front and the pace is huge, Fenix-Premier Tech come up too.
Elisa Longo Borghini leads her UAE Team ADQ round the roundabout.
We've got a 2km run along the coast, the wide sandy beach on the riders' right side, until another 90º left hander.
Longo Borghini is nailing it, but other teams are coming up now, though SD Worx have been knocked backwards.
Through the left hand bend away from the coast, and we have another one immediately, then a right hander coming soon after.
Longo Borghini is flying, working for Lara Gillespie, Consonni is there for Canyon-Sram too. Lidl-Trek too.
The final left hand bend comes with 600m to go, the sprinters won't want to be on the front just yet. Then finish straight is straight and wide, if you have a lead out there's space to move up.
1km to go
Lidl-Trek hit the front, SD Worx are there too, but other teams are coming up into the final bend. Gillespie is perfectly placed, but so is Balsamo.
Charlotte Kool opens up first, but on the other side of the road Balsamo goes and the Lidl-Trek rider takes an emotional win, affirming her place in the overall race leaders maglia rosa.
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It's been a tough season for both Balsamo and her Lidl-Trek team. Excluding Saturday's stage, where she was awarded the win after Lorena Wiebes' disqualification, Balsamo has failed to win until today, and the victory will give the former World Champion great confidence.
Indeed, Balsamo, wearing pink, and her team appeared brimming with confidence throughout the stage. though they weren't forced to all of the work, they were ever present on or near the front.
"It's just amazing, I'm so happy," Balsamo said. "I want to say a big thank you to my team mates they did an amazing job the whole day and I just a really good sprint so it was an amazing day.
"Today I was just completely focused on the finish line and I and I pushed 'til the end because I knew that everyone could come from the back because they are so strong, but yes, it's feeling good and I'm so happy about my sprint."
Monday's third stage is not designated as a sprint stage, though there is a chance it could end in a bunch kick. Balsamo will be hoping so.
"I know quite well the stage of tomorrow because I did a recon, I think it's going to be a hard one because in the final it's quite hilly but as I said I have a really good team, they trust me and I trust them and this is just the best."
Lara Gillespie struck disconsolate figure sat by the barriers after finishing second. She was third across the line on Saturday and both days her UAE Team ADQ taken the race by the scruff of the neck, dominating the finals.
However, they have been doing that all year and though they have won some big races, they're return is not equal to the effort they've made.
"I'm just empty, I found that a really hot stage," Gillespie said. "I'm gutted because the girls did such a good job and I executed it pretty perfectly, it was just legs, which is always hard to hear.
"I'm just looking forward to getting back to the girls as much as they did for me today."
Whether Balsamo can win on the more challenging third stage remains to be seen, but it is often the case that the sprinter with momentum dominates a stage race.
Thanks for joining us once again for our live coverage of the Giro d'Italia Women.
Monday will see more climbing as the peloton races another 156 stage, this time between Bibione and Buja, right on the edge of the Julian Alps. They roll out at 13:30CET and we'll see you just before then.
