With the summer months fast hotting up, the action in the Women’s peloton will soon do the same as riders get ready for one of the oldest races on the calendar – the Giro d’Italia Women. Today, Team Picnic PostNL announce their seven-rider squad which will take on the exciting eight days of racing across Italy.
A time trial in Bergamo gets the race underway on Sunday before an intriguing long dragging climb to Aprica the following day could be one for the strong sprinters; but the puncheurs and GC riders might already test their legs. Stage three and five should be opportunities for the sprinters, while days four and seven provide two proper tough summit finishes to Valdobbiadene and Monte Nerone respectively, where big GC gaps can be made. However, the more rolling terrain of stages six and eight shouldn’t be underestimated either as some sharp ascents are hidden there, and if the peloton decides to race them aggressively then things could be splintered into multiple groups with a lot of racing to go. As we’ve seen a lot this year, the Women’s peloton like to take things on from far out!
With final preparations almost complete after good recent training blocks and solid racing, Team Picnic PostNL have ambitions once more to leave their mark on the race during the eight days, through some good teamwork and smart racing.
Team Picnic PostNL coach Callum Ferguson explained: “We come into one of the most beautiful races of the season, having made some big steps as a team since the Vuelta. We will look to race for the GC with Marta and Eleonora, while Megan will be our finisher in those fast finales. Above anything though we want to continue to ride well as a team, get the basics right, and then from that we can have a more creative mindset to our racing. The opening TT will of course shape things in the GC, but we can expect the biggest gaps to come in the final three stages; and the stage around the Imola race circuit where the world championships were held should be exciting. The race comes at a good moment for us as everyone is really motivated and the morale is high within the group. Of course, the Giro d’Italia is always a hard race, especially with the heat at this time of year, but we have a well-balanced squad that I am confident can offer something at all moments throughout the race.”
