Elisa Balsamo wins stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia Donne(Image credit: Getty)
Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) wins her second stage at this year's Giro d'Italia Donne(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) celebrates winning the purple points jersey after Stage 5 in Reggio Emilia(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) continues in the pink leader's jersey (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ) celebrates the green mountain jersey(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
White best young rider jersey goes to Niamh Fisher-Black (Team SD Worx)(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Marta Cavalli (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) celebrates the blue best Italian jersey(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), on left, rides beside Emma Norsgaard Jorgensen (Movistar Team) during stage 5(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Riejanne Markus ( Jumbo-Visma) during stage 5(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Race leader Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) during stage 5(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
The peloton passes hay bales on farmland between Carpi and Reggio Emilia(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Leah Thomas of United States and Trek-Segafredo leads the peloton(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
The start of 126.1km stage 5 in Carpi(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
The final breakaway rider was Giorgia Bariani (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Christine Majerus (Team SD Worx) crosses the finish line in the main bunch in 38th place(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Tereza Neumanova (Liv Racing Xstra) crosses the finish line more than two minutes back(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Anastasia Carbonari (Valcar-Travel & Service) competes in the breakaway (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Matilde Vitillo (Team Bepink) competes in the breakaway(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Georgia Baker (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) crosses the finish line in 11th place(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Stage 5 podium (L to R): Charlotte Kool (Team DSM) on second place, race winner Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) and Marianne Vos ( Jumbo-Visma) on third place(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) claimed her second win on the Giro d'Italia Donne when she beat Charlotte Kool (Team DSM) and Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma) to the line on stage 5 in Reggio Emilia.
After the last escapee was reeled in 4.4 km from the line, it was a high-speed finale where the sprinters' teams all tried to position themselves at the front. This led to a crash at the flamme rouge that took out Emma Norsgaard (Movistar Team) and Blanka Vas (Team SD Worx).
The sprint was technical with a 90-degree left turn with 150 metres to go, and as Kool took a wide approach, Balsamo could take the ideal line and launch her sprint out of the turn. Kool came back strongly, but Balsamo just held her off to win.
“I am really happy with my team today, they worked hard and well, and I am delighted to win the stage,” the world champion said.
Looking ahead to stage 6 from Sarnico to Bergamo, she continued: “Tomorrow will be beautiful with the start in my hometown, but the stage itself is very challenging and suits a breakaway well. We will see,” Balsamo finished.
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How it unfolded
Compared to the previous day’s GC action in the hills around Cesena, stage 6 from Carpi to Reggio Emilia was completely flat, taking a loop through the Po Plain around the finishing town for a total distance of 126.1 kilometres.
The break of the day formed within the first 25km when Giorgia Bariani (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), Hannah Barnes (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team), and Italian-born Latvian champion Anastasia Carbonari (Valcar-Travel & Service) bridged to the duo of Matilde Vitillo (BePink) and Iris Monticolo (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo).
The peloton almost caught them with 97 km to go, but eventually let the breakaway go. Within 46km of the finish, the five riders’ advantage increased to 5:10 minutes before the sprinters’ teams took up the chase, steadily reducing the gap.
When their advantage had fallen to 1:06 minutes with 18km to go, Bariani attacked from the breakaway and went solo. This extended her breakaway by a few minutes as her former companions were reeled in with eight kilometres to go, while Bariani herself only had to give in to the chase 4.4km from the line.
In the final kilometres, the sprint trains were fighting for position, and a crash at the flamme rouge saw Norsgaard, Vas, and several other riders hit the road, splitting the peloton. In the reduced group that got through unscathed, Balsamo chose the best line through the final turn and had enough speed to hold off Kool and Vos at the line, celebrating her second Giro Donne stage win and further strengthening her hold on the cyclamen points jersey.
Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles. Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications, he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018.
