From her first Giro d’Italia Donne in 2007, Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo-Visma) had won at least one stage – and often several – in each of her 12 participations so far, amassing a remarkable 32 stage victories.
However, this year, the 36-year-old Dutchwoman went through her 13th Giro Donne without raising her arms in celebration once.
"I am a bit disappointed. On the other hand, this is part of sprinting, sometimes you have to gamble," Vos said of the way the final stage 9 sprint played out in Olbia, where she finished second behind winner Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ).
Vos was runner-up on stage 3 but finished a bike length behind stage winner Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx). She came closer to victory on the final stage 9 that finished in a chaotic sprint.
Vos had been kept at the front by her team on the run-in to Olbia but had to fend for herself on the 850-metre finishing straight.
The veteran kept her cool, jumping onto the wheel of Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) with 300 metres to go and cranking up her speed.
And at 150 metres from the line, Vos wanted to launch her own sprint but found herself boxed in by Ally Wollaston (AG Insurance-Soudal Quick Step) and Megan Jastrab (Team DSM-Firmenich) and had to sit down again briefly.
Vos finally came out of Consonni’s slipstream 100 metres and inched closer and closer to victory, but Consonni held her off by half a bike length to take the stage win.
“It was a hot day, and we knew from the start that we had to survive the climbs first. We wanted to have as many riders as possible after that to control. That went quite well. In the final turn, I briefly rode in the wind and had to drop back a bit," Vos said after the finish in Olbia.
"As a result, I had to come from far back. I am a bit disappointed. On the other hand, this is part of sprinting, sometimes you have to gamble. We have had an excellent Giro as a team, although we would have liked to have taken another victory."
Vos will now turn her attention to the Tour de France Femmes, where she won two stages and the overall points classification, last year, while wearing the yellow jersey for five stages before her Dutch compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) secure the overall title.
