Liane Lippert claims lucky stage 6 of the Giro d'Italia Women for second time

Former German road champion Liane Lippert (Movistar) won stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia Women on Friday after bridging to a late breakaway. 

Lippert out-sprinted Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix Deceuninck) after the two women attacked the five-woman group 10km from the finish in Terre Roveresche. Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) was third after attacking the GC group some kilometres from the line.

The entire stage was wildly aggressive, and refused to settle throughout its 145km, with numerous attacks heading up the road, establishing a small gap only to be caught again. The final move was initiated with 44km of the day to go, with Lippert and Rooijakkers both bridging separately.

While Rooijakkers was outdone in the final reckoning, she has moved up on the GC, now sitting in fourth place, only nine seconds from the podium, behind Lippert’s team mate, Marlen Reusser who retains the over all lead with two stages to go.

After their attack Lippert and Rooijakkers worked well all the way into the final kilometre, though Lippert was supremely confident in her sprint, opening up from the front, easily beating her Dutch rival.

Despite her win, the team job is not yet done, and Lippert’s responsibility will now be to help maintain Reusser’s GC lead.

“It was always the priority to be for the maglia rosa that’s why I’m really happy that I have the freedom to go for myself,” Lippert said. “For sure tomorrow I will try to do the same as I did on the other mountain top finish and go full for Marlen.”

The success was Lippert’s first of the season, her last one having been in stage six of last year’s race.

“In the Giro, six is my lucky number, it was similar to last year and I had the feeling that today would be my day and I went for it. I’m super happy I had a super good day today and the team was on fire. It’s a long process and I’m super happy to finally have a win the first one of the season,” Lippert said.

“I came to this Giro actually not feeling super good but I felt better day by day thanks to my team because they mentally built me up again. I was on a bit of a low after the second stage but now I am feeling super myself and also the people around make a big difference how you ride.”

If stage 5, with its chaos, drama and crosswind inspired impact on the general classification, was the calm, then stage 6 was the start of the storm. 

Starting on the east coast, at Bellaria-Igea Marina, the 145km stage took the peloton inland over three classified climbs, and numerous smaller ones, to an uphill finish at Terre Roveresche. With heat and 2,350 of climbing, it was another tough day.

Once again plenty of attacks peppered the opening kilometres, though it took more than 25km for New Zealand champion Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Oatly) to get a lead of 30 seconds. She couldn’t stay out there though, and was caught just before the top of the second category climb to San Marino, where Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) took the mountains points.

More attacks went and were caught, but with 89km to go Loes Adegeest (FDJ-SUEZ) got away, with former maglia rosa Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) in hot pursuit. The British woman struggled get on, though, and as the race entered the final 60km she was still 40 seconds behind, with the peloton less than a minute further back.

Henderson was caught and by a reduced peloton on the third category ascent to Monteciccardo, where Adegeest was caught by Ostolaza, the former Spanish champion looking for points in a bid to take the maglia azzura mountains jersey.

The descent saw more action, with Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) leading Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek) and Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) off the front. However, the moment the next climb began they were caught by a small peloton containing all the race favourites. There was still no rest though, as over the top Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) attacked, taking a small gap onto the descent, chased by Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ). However, when three more riders set off in pursuit, they were caught, Spratt carrying on alone.

Just 33km from the line Spratt was joined by Juliette Labous (FDJ-SUEZ) and Sara Casaola (Fenix Deceuninck) and five kilometres later Lippert bridged the 50 second gap, while 30 seconds behind another group of 10 chased, the favourites group the same time further back.

Rooijakkers led the chase, but with no help she but paused before attacking and bridging to the front, while behind the peloton grew in numbers less than a minute back, UAE Team ADQ taking the lead. The Emirati squad soon had help from SD Worx-Protime, Swiss champion Steffi Häberlin briefly working to defend Anna van der Breggen’s third place on GC from Rooijakkers

With 10km remaining the gap was down to 32 seconds as Lippert attacked the leading group on the steep ramps of the final unclassified climb. As Rooijakkers bridged to the German, Longo Borghini attacked the GC group with only Reusser able to follow, though the attack was for nought as the GC group re-formed with eight kilometres to go, their deficit to the two leaders still 40 seconds.

Saturday sees the riders take on the queen stage of this year’s Giro. Starting in Fermignano and finishing art the top of Monte Nerone, not only is it the longest day of the race, with 3,850m of vertical ascent over the 150km, it is the hilliest too.