Annemiek van Vleuten can hardly miss the overall victory in the Giro Donne. The Dutchman finished fourth in the last mountain stage on Saturday, so that she starts the final stage with a sufficient margin.
The stage from San Michele All’Adige to San Lorenzo Dorsino was won by Kristen Faulkner. It marked her second stage win of this race for the American rider of BikeExchange-Jayco. She had previously won the opening time trial.
Marta Cavalli, the number two in the general classification, finished the stage in second. The Italian saw her compatriot Elisa Longo-Borghini and Van Vleuten pass the finish 15 seconds later.
With fourth place, Van Vleuten limited the damage and she has a large margin at the start of the last stage, which will be on a largely flat course on Sunday. The Movistar rider has just under two minutes ahead of Cavalli.
If Van Vleuten manages to finish the last stage and keep her lead, she will win the Giro d’Italia for women for the third time. She previously won the highly regarded women’s race in 2018 and 2019.