Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) confirmed her status as the strongest sprinter in the Giro d’Italia Women by winning stage 6 in a sprint ahead of Maggie Coles-Lyster (Human Powered Health) and Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco).

65km from the finish, Uno-X Mobility pushed through the town of Volta Mantovana and split the peloton in the crosswinds. A.o. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), Elisa Longo Borghini, and Lara Gillespie (both UAE Team ADQ) were caught out in the second group while a.o. Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal), and Femke de Vries (Visma-Lease a Bike) were in the third group.

The high speed spelled the end for the early break of four riders, and the group with Vollering made it back after a few kilometres. Reusser & co. had to chase hard until they closed the gap with 46.5km to go. Vollering and Van der Breggen tried to snatch time bonifications in the intermediate sprint but could not beat the sprinters.

A crash in a tight turn 1.2km from the line stretched out the peloton, and Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) piloted Balsamo through the technical finish. Coles-Lyster opened her sprint 250m from the finish through a slight right-hander, but Balsamo came off the Canadian’s wheel with 150m to go to win.

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“A lot of sprinters thought it was a really good opportunity today. I could see a lot of full lead-outs in the last kilometres. Fleur, Lucinda, and I were just jumping, and at one point we found the perfect place behind Fenix-Premier Tech.

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