The World’s top ten, the Netherlands, and five Italian wildcards for the Italian women’s Grand Tour
The organisation of the Giro d’Italia Femminile - the Giro Donne - has announced the list of sixteen teams that have been invited to this year’s race. The nine-day race, which starts in the southern city of Napoli on June 29th, is currently the biggest on the women’s calendar - aside from the Olympic Games - and so the best World’s best riders will be expected to start.
The top ten teams in the World have been automatically invited, headed by the Stichting Rabobank team of defending champion Marianne Vos (Rabobank). The Dutch champion totally cannibalised last year’s race - taking five of the ten stages, and winning the points and mountains jerseys, as well as the overall title - but will likely be less dominant this time after fracturing her collarbone in last month’s Valkenberg Hills Classic, and with a focus on the Olympic road race at the end of July.
In addition to those top teams, the highest ranked national team of the Netherlands has been invited - which will likely be a combination of Argos-Skil and Dolmans Boels riders - and five Italian teams have been granted wildcards because of the presence of some quality riders, and their commitment to developing young Italian talent.
Vos’ main challenge could come from last’s year’s runner up - and the only woman able to compete with the Dutchwoman in the mountains - Emma Pooley (AA Drink-Leontien.nl). Despite a slow start to the season - much of which was down to the disappearance of a number of her preferred races - the former British champion is coming into form at the right time, which was shown by her third place overall in the Giro del Trentino this weekend.
Other likely contenders include Ronde van Vlaanderen and overall Emakumeen Euskal Bira winner Judith Arndt (Orica-GreenEdge), Exergy Tour winner Evie Stevens (Specialized-lululemon), and 2009 World champion Tatiana Guderzo (MCipollini-Giambenini), who has taken the blue jersey for best Italian in the last two years.
Guderzo could see her blue jersey prospects threatened by current Italian champion Noemi Cantele (Be Pink), who took the first stage of Trentino on Saturday. The Varesina - who will defend her tricolore jersey on Wednesday - will once again have the Lombardy stage of the race dedicated to her as it passes through her home region.
The race will also see a bid for a record sixth victory from veteran Italian Fabiana Luperini (Faren-Honda), while others to challenge for the stages and high overall finishes include Swedish champion Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-Mistral Home), Annemiek Van Vleuten (Rabobank), Carla Ryan (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and Ashleigh Moolman (Lotto Belisol).
Battling Vos for the points jersey as usual will be World champion Giorgia Bronzini (Diadora-Pasta Zara), German champion Ina Teutenberg (Specialized-lululemon), and Commonwealth champion Rochelle Gilmore (Faren-Honda), who fractured her pelvis in a crash in last year’s race.
The jersey that could see the stiffest competition however, is the white jersey for young riders. 2011 winner Elena Bertato (Fassa Bortolo-Servetto) will be ineligible this time, but there could be a big battle between young Italians Rossella Ratto (Giusfredi-Verinlegno), Elisa Longo Borghini (Hitec Products) and Valentina Scandolara (Michela Fanini-Rox), who will come up against Dutchwoman Lucinda Brand (AA Drink-Leontien.nl), the French prodigy Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Rabobank), and current Belarusian champion Alena Amialiusik (Be Pink).
Each of the sixteen teams will be made up of eight riders each - making a total peloton of 128 - with the final start list to be announced shortly before the race start.
Giro d'Italia Femminile (2.1) June 29th-July 7th, invited teams
Top Ten teams
Stichting Rabobank (Netherlands)
Specialized-lululemon (Germany)
AA Drink-Leontien.nl (Netherlands)
Orica-GreenEdge (Australia)
Hitec Products-Mistral Home (Norway)
Diadora-Pasta Zara (Italy)
Be Pink (Italy)
Faren-Honda (Italy)
RusVelo (Russia)
Lotto Belisol (Belgium)
National Teams
Netherlands
Five Italian wild card teams
Giusfredi-Verinlegno
Mcipollini-Giambenini
Vaiano-Tepso
Fassa Bortolo-Servetto
Michela Fanini-Rox.