Fresh off the back of her podium finish at La Vuelta Femenina, 21-year-old Marion Bunel will be back in Grand Tour action at the Giro d'Italia Women from May 30, added to the roster as the replacement for the injured Marianne Vos.
Bunel is quickly realising her potential as a leader at Visma, translating her elite climbing level into results, but she won't be the Dutch team's only GC option in Italy, confirming on Thursday that she would be co-leading with 32-year-old Femke de Vries.
In Spain, Bunel came into her own on the final two big mountain days, jumping up 22 spots overall thanks to her performance at Les Praeres on stage 6, before holding onto third spot overall by finishing fourth up the brutal Alto de l'Angliru. Even she has to admit she was surprised to be so close to the red jersey, eventually finishing 49 seconds down on the winner, Paula Blasi.
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"I knew I was in good shape, but I never imagined I would be fighting for the overall victory and eventually finish on the podium. The team supported me fantastically and I’m very happy that I was able to reward all the hard work with such a great result," said Bunel on Visma's website.
"My preparation for the Giro d’Italia Donne has gone well. After the Vuelta I spent a few days at home with my family. After that I got back into training and I’ve never really lost the good feeling. Hopefully I can carry that form into the Giro as well.
"We have a very strong team. I’m feeling really good at the moment and I hope I can support Femke [de Vries] in the best possible way with my current form. Hopefully we can achieve another strong result together."
De Vries has impressed since joining Visma midway through 2024 as a latecomer to the sport, taking second on GC at the Tour de l'Ardèche last season, and improving on that with her first WorldTour podium at this year's UAE Tour, where she was third overall.
"I’m feeling good. I’ve had an excellent preparation. The training sessions during my altitude camp went really well and it was an enjoyable period. Even though the weather wasn’t always great, the training camp gave me exactly the right stimulus heading into the race," said De Vries.
"I don’t want to put too much pressure on my ambitions yet, because in a Grand Tour you never really know how things will unfold. But it would be great if I could finish in the top five of the general classification."
This will be her second appearance at the Giro, and fifth at a Grand Tour, having raced at the Vuelta in 2025 and the past two Tours de France Femmes – the latter of which was in support of overall winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot – who she is due to support again in August.
Both De Vries and Bunel will be looking to be at their best on the key climbing day to Sestriere on stage 8, where the iconic Colle delle Finestre climb will likely decide who will win the maglia rosa. Visma have great memories there as a team, having essentially won the men's Giro there last season with Simon Yates, but Bunel herself has also won there, claiming the Tour de l'Avenir Femmes atop the mountain in 2024.
"It’s a truly iconic climb. I really enjoyed watching last year’s Giro stage back. I think it’s a climb that suits me well. We also have a very strong climbing team, so hopefully we can show ourselves there," said De Vries.
"Marion did an incredible job. She’s making huge steps forward and it’s great to see that translating into results as well. I’m really looking forward to racing together with her in Italy."
The GC leaders will be backed up by another top young talent, Viktória Chladoňová, Nienke Veenhoven, Daniek Hengeveld, Rosita Reijnhout, and Margaux Vigié. The race kicks off from Cesenatico on Saturday, May 30.
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