Alison Jackson

Rouleur predicts... Giro Rosa stage 2

5 minute read Annemiek van Vleuten Giro Rosa Photos: Sean Hardy Words: Nick Christian

The Gang of Four failed to spot the fabulous firepower of Trek-Segafredo for the opening team time trial. Must try harder.

Now we reach more familiar territory, with all the multi-surnamed acronyms in the frame: AVV, AvdB, ELB and CUL.

It's not all smooth tarmac either, as Hannah points out. Who's it going to be?

 

Stage 2 Civitella Paganico – Arcidosso (124.8km)

Giro Rosa stage 2 

Olivia Kaferly

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) After her fantastic win at the Giro dell'Emilia, I’m sure Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig has the legs for a day like this. Since she has already lost 1.20 in the TTT, the peloton may feel just a little too confident that they can give her a bit of rope. She’s an exciting, attacking rider, and if she’s feeling good, all she’ll need is a few metres advantage in order to score a big win.

 

Andy

Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) Arguably, she's been the rider of the summer, even if she only has two wins to show for it, including yesterday's TTT. Her sterling team-mate displays for Lizzie Deignan in France a fortnight ago could well mean some payback in her home race. Tough stage, but ELB is a tough cookie.

 

Ben Ward

Annemiek Van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) I can't imagine how frustrating the lack of racing has been for someone who is so motivated to win as Van Vleuten. After being frustrated by a La Course route that didn't give her enough to assert her strengths, I don't think she'll waste any time in restating her recent dominance on a very lumpy day.

 

Hannah Walker

Anna van der Breggen (Boels Dolmans) This stage has AvdB written all over it. A Strade Bianche-style parcours in the Province of Grosseto, Tuscany. After 14km comes the first dirt sector, the roads are up and down all day, and with 15km to go there’s an extremely steep ascent to Seggiano on a 4km dirt sector – this will be a pivotal point in the race. AvdB has great technical capabilities, excels on very steep terrain and has Chantal van den Broek-Blaak and Karol-Ann Canuel to help the Olympic Champion. 

 

5 minute read Annemiek van Vleuten Giro Rosa Photos: Sean Hardy Words: Nick Christian

READ MORE

Portrait of Lukas Nerurkar

‘An altitude camp at the age of seven’ – Lukas Nerurkar on the power of doing things differently

The British rider had a unique upbringing, spending his early childhood in Ethiopia and learning from his marathon runner father – he tells Rouleur about...

Leer más
Women's UAE Tour

Women’s UAE Tour 2025: Who will win the four-stage race in the Middle East?

The third edition of the Women's WorldTour race will begin on Thursday, February, 6 2025 

Leer más
Rob Stannard

Robert Stannard: Lost, fined, and fighting for redemption

The Australian rider speaks to Rouleur about his turbulent past 18 months 

Leer más
Wout van Aert says winning Flanders and Roubaix isn’t an obsession – but it is

Wout van Aert says winning Flanders and Roubaix isn’t an obsession – but it is

All eyes will be on the Belgian rider as he tries to finally win two of the biggest one-day races in the sport

Leer más
Frank van den Broek: hobby DJ, part-time florist, and Tour de France star

Frank van den Broek: hobby DJ, part-time florist, and Tour de France star

Frank van den Broek hasn't had the most conventional rise to the top

Leer más

READ RIDE REPEAT

JOIN ROULEUR TODAY

Get closer to the sport than ever before.

Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines.

SUBSCRIBE