One of the oldest races on the Women’s calendar lays ahead of the peloton next week as they take on the Giro d’Italia Donne, with Team DSM revealing their seven-rider roster today which will be tasked with taking on the nine days of racing across Italy.
A fast start sees the peloton take on a short and sharp prologue in Chianciano Terme before hitting the open road for the first time the following day where the good climbing sprinters, puncheurs and even possibly GC riders might have their eye on glory. The pure sprinters will then get their chance before the race heads into more hilly terrain and some potential opportunities for the breakaway artists. Two punchy hill-top finishes follow where there is a chance for GC action, especially with the stinging gradients on offer and with fewer opportunities to shake things up in the days that follow. Ahead of the final weekend, a Friday rest day will see the peloton take a ferry journey across the Mediterranean Sea to the island of Sardinia, where two rolling stages will round out the race; as the stage hunters seek for their final chance of glory and those in the GC battle look to either consolidate their position or try to elevate themselves up the order.
With the final preparations almost complete and coming off the back of training blocks, including a high-altitude camp, and racing blocks recently where the team performed well, all eyes will be on Team DSM, which will make its first outing as Team dsm-firmenich at the Giro d’Italia Donne. Rocking their brand-new navy-blue kit which holds onto the team’s distinctive two-striped design, reflecting their Keep Challenging philosophy, Team dsm-firmenich will be aiming for the best GC result possible and day success throughout the nine stages.
Team DSM coach Kelvin Dekker said: “After a strong start to our season where we’ve rode aggressively and smartly as a group, riding to our strengths, we’re excited to head to the Giro d’Italia Donne and nine days of tough action. For the race we have three goals: to go for the best possible GC result with Juliette as our finisher; hunt stage success in the sprints with Megan as our fast finisher; and to continue that aggressive and smart approach so we can create opportunities for ourselves on the other stages. We come into the event after some solid recent blocks of racing and training and are looking forward to showing ourselves in Italy. We expect it to be a tough race and there is a mix of challenging terrain throughout the event. Therefore, we need to be switched on as a team right from the beginning to get the most out of ourselves and each other.”
Line-up
Francesca Barale (ITA)
Eleonora Ciabocco (ITA)
Megan Jastrab (USA)
Franziska Koch (GER)
Juliette Labous (FRA)
Esmée Peperkamp (NED)
Becky Storrie (GBR)
