Rouleur predicts... Giro Rosa stage 1

Rouleur predicts... Giro Rosa stage 1

The 31st edition of the biggest stage race in women’s cycling kicks off this week, the Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile 2020.


We’ll just refer to it by its more familiar moniker, the Giro Rosa, if you don’t mind. The fact that this race always clashes with the Tour de France does it no favours whatsoever publicity-wise. The Tour got moved to September. And the Giro Rosa? Exactly the same... Don’t get us started.

No matter. We have assembled a top panel to assess all nine stages and offer their thoughts on the likely winners.

Our Andy and Ben are joined by two experts in the field: Rouleur contributor Olivia Kaferly in Switzerland, and commentator and Ceratizit-WNT press officer Hannah Walker, who has the advantage of being on the ground in Italy.

We have a juicy team time trial to kick off proceedings. Who’s got the legs for it?

Stage 1 Grosseto – Grosseto (16km TTT)

Giro Rosa stage 1 

Olivia Kaferly

Équipe Paule Ka Women’s teams unfortunately do not get that many opportunities to take part in TTTs, so the winner of this first stage seems far from guaranteed. Many teams are sprinkled with very strong time trialists, but no one seems dominant in the discipline these days. So I’m going with Équipe Paule Ka. With riders like Marlen Reusser, Leah Thomas, Emma Cecilie Norsgaard and Lizzy Banks to power them on the flat Grosseto course, I think they have at least as good a chance as any team on the startline.

 

Hannah Walker

Canyon-SRAM The team come to the Giro Rosa with a very strong line-up. Four of the six riders are former team time trial world champions from 2018; Hannah Barnes, Lisa Klein, Elena Cecchini and Alena Amialiusik. They’ve also got aero gains aficionado Dan Bigham here, which shows to me that they mean business. They’ll be aiming to repeat last year’s success, taking the maglia Rosa on day one in a TTT.

 Giro Rosa

Ben Ward

Boels-Dolmans The days of their dominance of the sport may be gone, but this line-up has some heavy TT hitters in it and they've largely ridden together for a long time, so I'm going for the soon to be renamed team to go out in a blaze of TTT glory, narrowly pipping Sunweb.

 

Andy McGrath

Boels-Dolmans With not even a bridge to climb, this is one for the powerhouses. I think Boels-Dolmans will just shade it with Van der Breggen, Van den Broek-Blaak, D'Hoore and Pieters in the engine room.

 


READ MORE

Remco Evenepoel

Remco Evenepoel's Tour de France dream is over - Where did it go wrong and what comes next?

The Soudal-Quickstep rider abandoned the Tour de France on stage 14

Leggi di più
‘We’ve stepped up’ - How Shimano’s neutral service is saving dreams at the Tour de France

‘We’ve stepped up’ - How Shimano’s neutral service is saving dreams at the Tour de France

Rouleur spent a day inside the Shimano car alongside Servais Knaven to find out how he's implementing changes that make the service better than ever

Leggi di più
Bold and brave: How Ineos Grenadiers got ahead of ‘those two freaks’ at the Tour de France

Bold and brave: How Ineos Grenadiers got ahead of ‘those two freaks’ at the Tour de France

Thymen Arensman won stage 14 to Luchon-Superbagnères with an audacious solo hit out from the breakaway, managing to hold off a chasing Tadej Pogačar

Leggi di più
Tour de France 2025 stage 15 preview: Breakaway specialists eye glory

Tour de France 2025 stage 15 preview: Breakaway specialists eye glory

A lumpy transition stage seems primed for a breakaway, but a versatile sprinter could prevail

Leggi di più
Florian Lipowitz

From ski star to GC hope: Florian Lipowitz's convoluted journey to becoming Germany's biggest cycling talent

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's young German didn't start out cycling, but he showed promise from the moment he first started taking the sport seriously. Now he's one...

Leggi di più
Tour de France 2025 standings: the results after stage 14

Tour de France 2025 standings: the results after stage 14

The latest results and standings from the Tour de France 2025

Leggi di più

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