{"id":614315,"date":"2026-05-31T22:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T22:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/614315\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T22:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T22:02:10","slug":"elisa-balsamo-sprints-to-victory-to-claim-stage-2-of-the-giro-ditalia-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/614315\/","title":{"rendered":"Elisa Balsamo sprints to victory to claim stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek<\/a>) has claimed stage 2 of the Giro d\u2019Italia Women after a decisive sprint victory.<\/p>\n

Balsamo, who had started the day in pink \u2014and been retrospectively crowned the winner of stage 1\u2014 after Lorena Wiebes\u2019 dramatic disqualification<\/a> last night, raised her hand in triumph as she crossed the line.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wiebes<\/a>\u2019 absence had paved the way for a contested bunch sprint, with multiple teams harbouring aspirations for the stage win.<\/p>\n

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In the final 500 metres, UAE Team ADQ<\/a> were driving for Lara Gillespie, with Balsamo led out from distance by Lucinda Brand.<\/p>\n

It was Charlotte Kool (Fenix<\/a>-Premier Tech) who launched her sprint first, with Balsamo jumping out from Gillespie\u2019s wheels and powering down the centre to take the win.<\/p>\n

Gillespie, in red, finished second, with Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM<\/a>) outsprinting Kool to snatch the final podium spot, slamming her handlebars in frustration.<\/p>\n

The win tightens Balsamo’s hold on the points classification, which she now leads with 70 points. Gillespie follows with 50 and Consonni with 36.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s just amazing \u2013 I\u2019m so happy,\u201d said Balsamo in an interview with TNT Sports after the stage. \u201cIn the last two weeks, I was waiting for this win so much, because this win is for my uncle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to say a big thank you to my teammates, who did an amazing job the whole day\u2026Today, I was just completely focused on the finish line, and I pushed until the end because I knew that anyone could come from the back, because they are so strong. But I was feeling good, and I\u2019m so happy about my sprint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team worked so hard all day,\u201d teammate Brand agreed. \u201c[Amanda Spratt] and Shirin [van Anrooij] did an amazing job. They were helping in the final to keep us in the front. Then it went super quick \u2013 we were hoping to have a bit longer but there was a bit of chaos entering the city. I saw Movistar<\/a> moving to the front, so I thought I\u2019d better keep the speed, and I know Elisa can take a really good wheel. In the end, it was a really good day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gillespie, on the other, was less pleased with her second place. \u201cI\u2019m just empty. I found that a really hard stage, and I\u2019m just gutted because the girls did such a good job. I executed it pretty perfectly, so it was just legs, which is always hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s 156-kilometre stage ran from Roncade to Caorle, a seaside town on Italy\u2019s northern coast. The flat route had just one short, steep climb \u2014the Muro di C\u00e0 del Poggio at around 65 kilometres in\u2014 with gradients reaching 19%.<\/p>\n

Wiebes\u2019 disqualification from the race yesterday evening was one of the stage\u2019s major talking points, opening up possibilities for sprinters like Consonni, Gillespie and Kool, who had all made the top five the day before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really interesting situation,\u201d said Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco<\/a>) before the stage. \u201cApart from Wiebes, there was a really tight finish. Lots of teams could look at each other, and I think they\u2019re going to have to take it up to sprint. I think it\u2019ll be interesting, the bunch finish today. I suppose we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

SD Worx<\/a> have confirmed that they may explore legal action for Wiebes\u2019 disqualification.<\/p>\n

Predictably, the stage\u2019s three-woman breakaway (Eleonora la Bella from Aromitalia Valiano and Elisa de Vallier and Sara Luccon from Top Girls Fasso Bortolo) was caught with around 14 kilometres remaining, paving the way for a bunch sprint.<\/p>\n

But with the pink jersey \u2014and the weight of Italian expectations\u2014 on her shoulders, it was Balsamo who delivered an authoritative sprint victory on the streets of Caorle.<\/p>\n

RESULT GIRO D\u2019ITALIA WOMEN: STAGE 2, RONCADE > CAORLE (156KM)<\/p>\n

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek in 3:57.49
2. Lara Gilespie (Ire) UAE Team ADQ
3. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon-SRAM<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech
5. Barbara Guarischi (Ita) SD Worx-Protime<\/p>\n

6. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar Team<\/p>\n

7. Maggie Coles-Lyster (Can) Human Powered Health<\/p>\n

8. Alessia Zambelli (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo<\/p>\n

9. Nienke Veenhoven (Ned) Team Visma<\/a> | Lease a Bike<\/p>\n

10. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility, all at the same time<\/p>\n

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 2<\/p>\n

1. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Lidl-Trek in 7:15.51<\/p>\n

2. Lara Gilespie (Ire) UAE Team ADQ, +0.08
3. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Canyon-SRAM, +0.12
4. Charlotte Kool (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech, + 0.20
5. Linda Zanetti (Sui) Uno-X Mobility
6. Georgia Baker (Aus) Liv AlUla Jayco<\/a>
7. Alessia Zambelli (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
8. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar Team
9. Gladys Verhulst-Wild (Fra) AG Insurance – Soudal
10. Cristina Tonetti (Ita) Laboral Kutxa – Fundaci\u00f3n Euskadi, all at the same time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) has claimed stage 2 of the Giro d\u2019Italia Women after a decisive sprint victory. Balsamo,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-614315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}