Giro d'Italia Women 2025 stage 1 preview - Race of truth to leave contenders counting seconds from the start

The Giro d'Italia Women begins with an undulating 14.2km time trial on the streets of Bergamo, which will set the tone for the early general classification on the very first day of the eight-day race on July 6.

All of the overall contenders and a handful of time trial specialists will be eyeing both the stage victory and the first maglia rosa of the 36th edition of the Italian Grand Tour.

Some of the standout athletes include defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), four-time overall winner Anna van der Breggen and her teammate Lotte Kopecky (both SD Worx-Protime), and Marlen Reusser (Movistar), to name but a few.

Cyclingnews spoke with Reusser, who has made it no secret that winning the maglia rosa has been a major target for her 2025 season, racing in the colours of her new team, Movistar. The fact that it begins with a time trial only adds to the event's appeal.

"With Movistar, from the beginning of the year, we said that because the Giro has both a time trial and pretty hard climbing stages, that it's, for sure, something we should tackle with me. So, this was for sure from the beginning, the plan," Reusser told Cyclingnews.

Reusser is a specialist in the race against the clock, having won the two individual time trials she has started this year, so far; a stage at the Vuelta a Burgos and the elite women's title at the Swiss National Championships, and she is an all-rounder contender, too, having recently won titles at the Vuelta a Burgos and Tour de Suisse.

She explained that she is not focused on any of her rivals, GC contenders for this opening stage, and will go full gas to claim the highest possible placing.

"I think there are many [riders] that can do well. I think it's not at all easy. But for the time trials, I focus on myself. There is no ... zero use of thinking about others because it just has no point at all. So, I'm not thinking about how the others are gonna do," Reusser said.

Image 1 of 2

The course is primarily flat, but it does offer some technical sections, hairpin turns, and corners to keep the time trial specialists on their toes.

Riders will race by the historic Città Alta with a slight uphill segment before descending to the finish line at Sentierone.

The course is completely closed to public traffic, which Reusser said would have felt like a 'dream' opportunity for any cyclist, professional or not, in a city like Bergamo.

"For me, I really like the parcours. I'm thankful because I like it when organizers manage to close a city like Bergamo. It's a very beautiful course where we can perform on, and it's a big honour for me to be able to do that. What a fun thing it is to race through a closed city parcour. If I weren't a pro cyclist, it would be something I would dream of; how nice it would be with no traffic, and go full gas," Reusser said.

"I also like the type of time trial it is because it's short, and it has a lot of distractions. It has a lot of technical aspects. It's really, really interesting; you will not be bored at any point at all."

While she approves of this course, she also admitted that a longer, less technical time trial would have suited her better and given her an advantage in the GC standings, but that it wouldn't be nearly as fun.

"Of course, if it's just about how to win the race, the GC and TT, then the time trail, for me, should be a very long, very hard one with no technical corners, it's just super hard, super long," she said.

"Then I could put more time into my competitors, and there would be more benefits for me. But when I choose for the fun side of things, then I'm really happy with this time trial."

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.