Giro Rosa Gallery: The shots that tell the story
After much shuffling of the calendar and a general sense of uncertainty, the 2020 Giro Rosa hit the roads of Italy on September 10th. For nine days the peloton withstood surprise climbs, mid-race route changes, challenging finishes, crashes, heartbreak, and legendary victories.
One of the most controversial races in cycling, but also one of the most beautiful, the 2020 Giro Rosa started in Grosetto and slowly made it’s way south, then west, through mountains and rolling hills. Passing by minuscule Italian towns, decked in pink.
The pink jersey changed hands four times, starting off on the shoulders of Elisa Longo Borghini, a proud Italian racing for Trek-Segafredo, the first Italian to wear the jersey in twelve years. The second stage of the race World Champion Annemiek van Vleuten of Mitchelton-Scott took the lead, with a strong performance on gravel, while Longo Borghini plummeted down the general classification.
In a devastating turn of events, Van Vleuten was forced to abandon the Giro Rosa after stage seven, where she went down in the final kilometer. A broken left wrist made it impossible for her to start the next day, and thus the jersey passed to second place, Canyon//SRAM’s Kasia Niewiadoma. Niewiadoma only wore pink for one day, when Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team rider Anna van der Breggen was victorious on the most challenging finish of this edition of the event. The Dutch national champion successfully defended the title to the end, holding off Niewiadoma and Longo Borghini, who impressively clawed back minutes to land herself on the final podium.
New faces emerged, and riders who have yet to win races did so. Elisa Longo Borghini took her first Giro Rosa stage victory in nine editions of the race. Young riders Mikayla Harvey, Niamh Fisher-Black and Évita Muzic made their names known. Marianne Vos walked away with three out of nine stage victories. All in all, it was an emotional edition of the Giro Rosa.
David Powell, our photographer on the ground at the race, compiled a collection of his favorite shots. Moments that defined the race. From beautiful Italian climbs to finish line emotions, all the action over the nine days of the Giro Rosa can be glimpsed here, because we can’t be the only ones experiencing the post-Giro blues.
Movistar relax in Grosseto’s Piazza Dante ahead of the team presentation.
Ale BTC Ljubljana prepare for the Team Time Trial around Grosseto, Stage 1.
Equipe Paule Ka gave an impressive performance in the TTT, taking fourth place ahead of several World Tour outfits. The team gave a great performance thorough the Giro, leading the team rankings over 3 stages and eventually finishing second, just 43 seconds behind CCC – Liv
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and team in the last 100m of the TTT. It would be a disappointing day for them, finishing 11th.
The start and finish areas varied from narrow town streets to sprawling industrial car parks.
Elisa Longo Borghini realises that she’ll be wearing the Maglia Rosa, since she was first across the line in the Trek train.
The peloton ride through the first sector of strade bianche.
The stage featured 2 sectors of gravel, the second being particularly poor quality.
Although she would win the stage, Annemiek van Vleuten described it as “unnecessary, crazy and dangerous”.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma leads Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig on one of Stage 2’s gravel sectors.
Annemiek van Vleuten cools down after an emphatic stage win, taking over a minute on all of her competitors and the Maglia Rosa off the shoulders of Longo Borghini.
The village streets of Santa Fiora were taken over with team buses, trucks and riders going through warmup routines before the third stage
A change to the stage finish in Assisi meant that the riders were met with an impressively steep finale. Marianne Vos would edge out Uttrup Ludwig on the ramp, closely followed by Longo Borghini.
Mavi Garcia shortly after crossing the line in 10th place. The Spaniard has had a busy time since racing resumed, racing 16 out of 17 days straight over the Giro Rosa and Tour de l’Ardeche.
Although finishing second on the stage Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig was left disappointed that she couldn’t seal the win. 3 weeks previously she was victor of the Giro dell’Emilia which featured a similar steep finish.
Team FDJ Futuroscope at the stage 4 sign on.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Lisa Klein relax in the shade before the 170km stage 4.
Trek lead the peloton through one of the days descents, although it would be the breakaway that would reach Tivoli first.
Lizzie Banks of Equipe Paule Ka enters the last several hundred meters, leaving Eugenia Bujak, her breakaway companion, in her wake.
A fatigued Banks celebrates with her team after her win.
The race rolls through the hills of the Latina region, Stage 5.
Brodie Chapman suffers a mechanical instantly after the start of stage 5. It would be a hard day her her.
The peloton snake through the hills, before a sprint finish won by Vos.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma during stage 6.
Stage 7 began in the most suitable of places, an out of town shopping centre.
Some slightly more classical architecture was thankfully featured, the peloton pass through the Acquedotto Carolino.
Although she never got the stage results to show it, Mariia Novolodskaia of Cogeas – Mettler had an extremely attacking Giro, featuring in several breakaways and daring solo attacks.
Even the tough talking State Police love a race memento.
The finale of stage 7 featured huge drama, a crash took Annemiek van Vleuten’s Giro hopes away, she would be in the operating theatre rather than the podium at the weekend.
The peloton underneath the Acquedotto Carolino.
Lotte Kopecky finally gets her win, after finishing on the podium the previous 2 days.
Teuntje Beekhuis and her Lotto Soudal teammates head to the Stage 8 start in Castelnuovo della Daunia.
Anna van der Breggen during stage 8.
Elisa Longo Borghini celebrates her stage win with Lizzie Deignan. The win would also promote her to 3rd place overall.
The Maglia Rosa had passed to Katarzyna Niewiadoma following van Vleuten’s departure from the race, although she wasn’t able to defend her position. Van der Breggen would claim the jersey.
The Mountains leader flowers given to Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig sail through the Puglian sky.
Team buses before the start of the final stage in Motta Montecorvino.
Katia Ragusa of Astana was hugely disappointed with herself for missing out on a stage win, she finished 4th.
Brodie Champman celebrates with stage winner Evita Muzic. The FDJ teammates were in the breakaway all day, with Chapman setting the tempo on the last climb to the finish.
Anna van der Breggen is congratulated on her GC win by Amy Pieters.
The breakaway through the open fields of stage 9.
Evita Muzic crosses the finish line on the last stage.
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