Giro Rosa: Lepistö takes out stage 6

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Lotta Lepistö sprinted to victory in Roseto degli Abruzzi on Wednesday. The Finnish road champion bested Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb) and Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-High5) in the scrappy stage six sprint.

"It was a very hot stage and the race was fast which made it hard. We did the circuit four times but despite it being so hard, I was feeling good," said Lepisto in a team report. "[Team manager] Thomas [Campana] said this was the perfect stage for us. I trusted and believed that, despite the climbs."

The 116-kilometre stage took place over four circuit laps. Despite the flat profile, each included two climbs, the second of which was followed by a sharp descent down to the finish line. The peloton previewed on every lap.

Boels-Dolmans controlled the day for race leader leader Anna van der Breggen. By some accounts, the stage was relatively sleepy with only a handful of unfruitful break attempts. In reality, the day was hot, hectic, fast, aggressive and difficult to control.

"It was a harder race than people expected, because it was not flat," Dutch road champion Chantal Blaak, who has been riding in service of Van der Breggen, said in a team report. "We knew before. Never believe the road book. You have to do your homework. And it's the Giro, so there are always surprises even with the homework done."

The peloton largely stayed together under the watchful eyes of Blaak and her teammates. Alison Jackson (Cogeas) slipped away long enough on lap three to contest the intermediate sprint alone. Her catch was countered by stage three winner Hannah Barnes (CANYON//SRAM), Sorya Paladin (Alé Cipollini) and Sofia Bertizzolo (Astana).

The trio gained a maximum advantage of 45-seconds and stayed away for nearly a lap. The peloton reeled them in ahead of the last climb.

"You really needed to be in front on top of the last climb," said Blaak. "Because it was at four kilometres to go. Downhill. Then finish. The climb was not hard enough to drop people, but it was not possible to move up anymore."

"I was in position 30 going up the climb the last time but I gave it all on the descent and ended up in position two at the bottom of the descent, getting into a good position," said Lepistö.

In Lepistö's wake, the peloton had split. Nine riders had put a small gap into those that followed. Van der Breggen was the only general contender amongst the front nine.

"We knew there would be gaps at the finish," said Blaak. "It's the kind of finish were there are always gaps. The main goal today was to have Anna in front as we came to the line."

Van der Breggen's nearest competition, Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) and Anneimek van Vleuten (Orica-Scott), finished in the second group. The split was small – only three seconds – but in a race that has been decided on bonus seconds in the past, every second has been known to count. It's a psychological win for Van der Breggen as well.

The Giro Rosa continues on Thursday with a heavy 140-kilometre day in the hills between Isernia and Baronissi. Van der Breggen will toe the stage seven start line with a 1:03 advantage over Longo Borghini and 1:39 over Van Vleuten.

"We're looking forward to tomorrow," said Blaak. "It's another hard day, but we're very happy with this Giro. Anna is safe, strong and we've never been in a difficult situation."

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