Neve Bradbury (Canyon//SRAM) took a commanding solo victory on the queen stage of the 2024 Giro d'Italia Women on the mountain top finish of stage seven.
Bradbury attacked the favourites group with nine kilometres to go and never looked like getting caught by the chasers. Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) sprinted to second place 44 seconds down with Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) just behind in third.
With bonus seconds factored in, the world champion shaved two seconds off Longo Borghini's lead in the battle for the pink jersey, meaning that the Italian now leads the race by just one second ahead of the final stage. Having been more than two minutes off the lead at the start of the day, Bradbury climbed all the way up to the podium after her win.
The young Australian, who moved into the white jersey after securing her second career victory, needed to push hard to keep Kopecky and Longo Borghini at bay.
"I'm really cooked to be honest," she told Eurosport after the finish when asked how she felt. "It was full gas. I had to go so deep, so far into the red zone. I don't think I've pushed so hard in my life."
"I wasn't really looking at my power in the end. I was just trying to go full gas. I wasn't really thinking about anything apart from each pedal stroke."
The focus for team Canyon//SRAM at the start of the day was all on the stage win, but Bradbury admitted that she now has ambition for more.
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"At first I was just thinking about this stage win and then at one point I was like, actually maybe we can go be on the podium with me, if not have Antonia [Niedermeier] in third," she said.
"We'll fight for whatever we can and hope for the pink jersey," she said looking ahead to the final stage on Sunday.
The fight for pink behind was a bruising twelve-rounder between two heavyweights. Both suffered but neither were able to land a knock-out punch. It's been almost impossible to split Longo Borghini and Lotte Kopecky. With one round to go, it's tough to predict who will walk away with the Maglia Rosa when the race finishes in L'Aquila.
"I never underestimate Lotte," Longo Borghini said after the podium ceremony. "Today she had an outstanding performance and it seems like it always comes down to seconds between me and her...most of the time she wins it."
"What can I say? Still in pink but she's really close now. So, let's see tomorrow."
With just three seconds splitting leader Elisa Longo Borghini and Lotte Kopecky at the start of the day, stage seven was set up to be a barnstormer of a battle between two of the world's best.
The parcours for the day is one of the hardest of any race on the Women's WorldTour calendar this season, with 3,626 metres of climbing over 120km, featuring the fearsome ascents of the Passo Lanciano (11.4km at 8%) and Blockhaus (16.5km at 8%).
The first 60 kilometres of the stage played out over rolling terrain before the riders took on the first of the two first category climbs of the day. After numerous breakaway attempts, only Claire Steels (Movistar) was successful in staying away from the bunch for any significant period of time. The 38-year-old was pulled back at the foot of the Passo Lanciano.
In support of the pink jersey, Lidl-Trek set a fierce pace up the Lanciano, whittling the group down to less than 20 riders over the top. The big casualty from the first climb was Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), who was sixth on GC at the start of the day.
The leading group plummeted down the descent, led by Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek). The young Italian would control the leaders' group with team-mate Brodie Chapman as they approached the second and final mountain of the day. Chapman pulled off the front at the bottom of the climb, leaving it to Realini to try to guide the Maglia Rosa up the steep slopes of Blockhaus.
Realini was metronomic on the front with Longo Borghini glued to her wheel. Their rivals melted away due to the heat and the stifling pace of Realini until just nine were left.
With 10km to go Bradbury attacked, soon joined by Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck). Within a few hundred metres Longo Borghini, Kopecky and Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM) had chased them down to make a front group of five.
Bradbury, 2:04 down at the start of the day, attacked again a kilometre later. This time she went solo and established a significant gap over the others which quickly.
As Bradbury's lead expanded to nearly a minute, Longo Borghini made a move. Kopecky was equal to it. Rooijakkers tried to slowly diesel her way back and made it with four kilometres to go.
Longo Borghini was relentless in her attacks in the closing kilometres, clearly concerned about the world champion's kick at the end which could threaten her maglia rosa. Rooijakkers was majestic in her resistance; dropped again, she clawed her way back to the chasers.
Bradbury was a cut above the rest on Blockhaus, eventually taking the stage by 44 seconds and vaulting herself onto the overall podium.
Behind, Kopecky surged in an attempt to distance Longo Borghini in the final few hundred metres, but was unable to shake the Italian. With just one second separating the pair, Sunday's final stage should be an exciting duel for pink.
Results
Giro d'Italia Women, Stage 7: San Lanciano > Blockhaus, 123km
1. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon//SRAM, in 04:17:34
2. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime, +44s
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, same time
4. Pauliena Rooijakkers (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck, +1:07s
5. Antonia Niedermaier (Ger) Canyon//SRAM, +2:02
6. Juliette Labous (Fra) dsm-firmenich-PostNL, same time
7. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZl) SD Worx-Protime, +2:05
8. Gaia Realini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:15
9. Mareille Meijering (Ned), +4:20
10. Mavi Garcia (Esp) Liv AlUla Jayco, same time
Dan Challis is a freelance journalist based in the Scottish Borders. As well as writing for Cycling Weekly and CyclingNews, Dan also writes a weekly newsletter called Global Peloton.
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