When, with 40 km to go and after more than an hour of relentless racing, Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) managed to break away with Dilyxine Miermont (Ceratizit), the reaction across the board was the same: “Watch out! Don’t give them too much room!” The British rider is one of the strongest in the world on the flat, an Olympic silver medalist in the time trial, and on a steady climb like Aprica, she becomes a serious threat to everyone.
And that’s exactly how it played out. After gaining over three minutes in just a few kilometers, Henderson and Miermont gritted their teeth and held off the chase from the GC favorites, who certainly didn’t hold back on the ascent to Aprica. Henderson out-sprinted Miermont in a two-up finish, while the Maglia Rosa group, with a lively Marlen Reusser, crossed the line 26 seconds back. Thanks to the 16 bonus seconds she earned – split between the intermediate sprint in Malonno and the stage finish – Henderson also took over the Maglia Rosa, a jersey no British rider had worn in 16 years, since Emma Pooley.
The 2025 Giro d’Italia Women has already seen its first big shake-up. Anyone expecting a relatively calm day was disappointed, as the steeper ramps at the base of the final Aprica climb blew the race wide open. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) was the first to be dropped, followed by Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike), but the biggest name to crack was Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime). The world champion showed she’s not yet at peak form, reaching the finish 2’08” behind Henderson, and 1’42” off the other top contenders. If it wasn’t a knockout blow, it came very close.
Marlen Reusser (Movistar) may have lost the Maglia Rosa, but not all setbacks are bad, she now has the chance to regroup and plan her next assault on the leader’s jersey, likely targeting the Pianezze stage. Tomorrow in Trento, the sprinters will be in the spotlight, but with Passo del Tonale right at the start, things could get explosive from the very first kilometers.