With a time trial and sprint stage behind them, the Giro d’Italia Women peloton were faced with the first mountain-top finish of the race on Tuesday afternoon as the stage finished atop Toano and its five percent average gradients for 12 kilometres. Strong team support saw Juliette Labous climb with the best and take a good third place finish on the day.
Rolling out from the start in Sabbioneta the pace was high in the bunch as multiple teams looked to make the day’s breakaway. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL kept their proverbial powder dry, looking to stay safe in the group and save their energy for the deep finale. Grouping up well throughout the stage, the team stayed within the bunch when the breakaway eventually went clear, before the pace ramped up ahead of the climb to the line.
In the peloton, some great positioning work by Franziska Koch and Josie Nelson saw Labous to the fore as they turned onto the ascent with Eleonora Ciabocco supporting her as the bunch thinned down on the ascent where a high pace was set. It became a race of attrition as the kilometres ticked by and the gradients stung, with Labous tenaciously fighting amongst the elite GC group. The climb flattened off a bit in the final two kilometres before kicking up to the line once more, and that’s where the stage winning attack was made as things became tactical in the Maglia Rosa group. On the steep pitches to the finish, Labous gave her all and took third place on the stage; as the team moves up to the same position in the overall GC standings too.