OFFICIAL Stage 2 Results

[Laurens De Jong]

Hello, Giro d’Italia Women Gamers!

 

STAGE Grade: C+

 

I rate today’s stage  C+. Almost like yesterday, but without the surprise of a disqualified rider. I was a little bit surprised that Elisa Balsamo won again, but she wasn’t, so it’s probably just me then.

 

Route: 2/5         GC: 0/5             Tactics: 1/5       Sprint: 4/5         Surprises: 1/5

 

 

That was another long sprint, although this time I don’t really know why. A completely straight approach, but none of the lead trains were still working at the 225 meter mark. I saw Charlotte Kool attack from about eleventh place, putting herself totally in the wind for over 200 meters. Balsamo was still behind Nienke Veenhoven and Lara Gillespie, both equally unprotected. Balsamo didn’t have to kick until 150 meters from the end, and that’s an advantage you can’t overcome.

 

Behind her was Chiara Consonni and she might have been the faster woman. But she came back from too far and finished behind even Gillespie.

 

Which is to say: Gillespie outdid herself today. She had the longer sprint and still beat Consonni, and wasn’t far behind Balsamo. I miss Lorena Wiebes but if we have sprints like this for the rest of the week, I’ll still be happy.

 

Gillespie, as we could all see, was wearing the Maglia Rossa. In the women’s race, red is the color of the QOM, the leader in the climbers’ competition. Yesterday I wrote that the organizers hadn’t even bothered with a categorized climb in stage 1. I didn’t think about it, but they still have someone wear that jersey. In the event of a tie, the sum of the stage results breaks that tie. It was a tie: everyone except Cat Ferguson and Wiebes were tied with 0 points. And there was just one stage in the books, so the results from that stage broke the tie. Balsamo had the Maglia Rosa, therefore second-placed Lara Gillespie wore the Maglia Rossa.

 

That feels contrived to me. I don’t know, does that feel contrived? I think it does. Just put a categorized climb in stage 1 so it feels less contrived. Okay? Eleonora La Bella (her actual name) was first across the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio today, so she gets to wear the Maglia Rossa on Monday. Less contrived.

 

What I need is an AAVC-provided budget to attend these races in person, as a member of the press. I look at today’s stage results and I have so many questions that can only be answered if I could speak to the riders or at least their teams.

 

For example: I didn’t spot Eva van Agt during today’s race. To be fair, I spent more time looking away from the screen than at it. But I did notice at one point that Demi Vollering was brought back to the peloton. Not by van Agt, but by Vittoria Guazzini. A fantastic rider, twice the Italian time trial champion, sixth in this year’s In Flanders Fields, a winner in the ill-fated Tour Féminin International des Pyrénees. A rider that I had also never heard of before today.

 

Cycling is a team sport. A team like FDJ United – SUEZ is built around their leader, Demi Vollering. But they also have Ally Wollaston. I don’t know her status on the team. She is their sprinter, but how important is that? If she is important enough, then someone on the team is responsible for her well-being. Everyone supports Vollering, but one rider keeps an eye on Wollaston. Who is that rider on FDJ? I don’t know. I don’t even know if she exists.

 

That’s what I was thinking when I saw Guazzini. Apparently, van Agt is not Vollering’s dedicated minder. Van Agt finished 87^th today. Whatever her job was, she must have done it.

 

Sara Segala and Ilaria Marinetto finished second-to-last and last today. Over seven minutes behind. Sara is 18 and Ilaria is 19. They ride for Team Mendelspeck E-Work. Now I promise I won’t revisit this topic all the time, but I do want to bring it up at least once more.

 

We’re living in a time where women’s cycling seems to be flourishing. A Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España for women. Most major classics have a women’s edition. It all looks great, I’m glad it all exists. But how much of this is a house of cards?

 

Teams like Mendelspeck have riders that are an entire level too low to ride in the pro peloton. In the peloton, the riders must be able to produce a minimum level. In the men’s pro peloton, everyone can ride 50 km/h for 30 minutes. There is another level in the men’s peloton, it’s the aliens like Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel. But there’s not a level lower.

 

A level lower exists in the women’s peloton. Segala hasn’t finished a single pro race this year. In 2025, only two riders from Mendelspeck finished the Giro. Don’t get me wrong, these are fast riders, they would drop me on any training ride. But they’re a level too low. And that’s fine in itself, but my concern is: if we can’t get 147 riders of the same level at the start of the Giro d’Italia Women, is there really enough foundation for this  many pro races for women? Or are we overstretching and will this bubble burst?

 

I hope it’s just growing pains and in a few more years we’ll see a wider foundation. Segala isn’t going to be 18 forever, she may very well become a good rider.

 

But it can’t stay like this.

At least Segala and Marinetto finished. Karolina Kumięga had to give up. She rides with St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93, same as Alison Jackson. That a team can have both a Grand Tour stage winner (Jackson) and a rider like Kumięga on their roster underlines what I fear: our supply of women cyclists is just too small. Let’s hope that gets better — in part because there are good races now and that will encourage young women to start racing and enjoying our beautiful sport of cycling.

 

Okay, I promise, that’s the last time I bring this up. This year.

 

Watch the final kilometers HERE (all you need).

It was a dead tie between Team Ansel and Team Charles today. All their sprinters scored the same points. Most everything in every category, eight riders in the Top-25. Team Amalia did not select Balsamo, so they are 50 points behind the leaders now. 

Monday’s stage 3 is not quite a sprint stage, but I expect most of the sprinters to sort out who wins. It’s a tough finish, uphill at almost 6%, but it’s also just 320 meters long. The sprinter with the most patience will win the stage. Today that was Elisa Balsamo and I don’t see a reason why she wouldn’t win again tomorrow. She showed patience on Saturday, she showed patience on Sunday, and she’s obviously fast enough. Balsamo.

 

Standings after stage 2:

 

Rank	Name	Points	WAS	MOVES
1	Team Charles*	378	1	0
2	Team Ansel*	377	2	0
3	Team Amalia*	287	3	0

 

Standings after stage 2 (including adults):

 

Rank	Name	Points	WAS	MOVES
1	Team Charles*	378	1	0
2	Team Ansel*	377	3	1
3	Team Laurens	361	1	-2
4	Team Kent	350	4	0
5	Team Charlotte	322	5	0
6	Team Amalia*	287	7	1
7	Team Ellie	265	6	-1
8	Team Julie	256	9	1
9	Team Kari	238	8	-1
10	Team Kate	237	10	0
11	Team Corsa	205	11	0

 

Complete breakdown of points from stage 2:

 

Name	STAGE RESULTS	RED JERSEY	GREEN JERSEY	POLKA DOT JERSEY	WHITE JERSEY	POINTS/CLASS	TOTAL	PREVIOUS	CUM. TOTAL
Team Amalia*	112	24	9	0	0	33	145	142	287
Team Ansel*	144	34	14	0	0	48	192	185	377
Team Charles*	144	34	14	0	0	48	192	186	378

 

Complete breakdown of points from stage 2 (including adults):

 

Name	STAGE RESULTS	RED JERSEY	GREEN JERSEY	POLKA DOT JERSEY	WHITE JERSEY	POINTS/CLASS	TOTAL	PREVIOUS	CUM. TOTAL
Team Amalia*	112	24	9	0	0	33	145	142	287
Team Ansel*	144	34	14	0	0	48	192	185	377
Team Charles*	144	34	14	0	0	48	192	186	378
Team Charlotte	105	30	11	0	0	41	146	176	322
Team Corsa	65	17	7	0	0	24	89	116	205
Team Ellie	82	22	8	0	0	30	112	153	265
Team Julie	87	24	9	0	0	33	120	136	256
Team Kari	74	17	7	0	0	24	98	140	238
Team Kate	78	17	7	0	0	24	102	135	237
Team Kent	121	34	14	0	0	48	169	181	350
Team Laurens	127	34	14	0	0	48	175	186	361

 

Pedalare, donne! Pedalare!

 

-Laurens.