Elise Chabbey to put climbing strength to test at the Giro Donne

Canyon-SRAM will be heading into the Giro d’Italia Donne with four top ten finishers among it’s line up, including last year’s leading rider for the team, Elise Chabbey, who is fronting up to the race confident that the form and climbing prowess have stepped up this season.

Last year heading into the brutal second last stage, finishing on the steep slopes of Mount Matajur, Chabbey was fifth overall but couldn’t keep pace with the key GC challengers and slipped back six spots on the overall, before putting herself back into the top ten with a third place on the lumpy final stage. 

This year, however the versatile 29-year-old is facing up to the challenge of the climb heavy days – with three tough ones in a row after the race hits the Alps on stage 7 – with a season of strong results behind her. That includes mountains classification wins at the Women's Tour and Itzulia Women as well as a sixth place at the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge earlier this month.

“I have improved a lot physically and mentally and I’m going into this Giro in better shape than 2021,’ said Chabbey. “Unfortunately, I had a small illness last week so I was not 100% at nationals but I feel like I’m back on track now.

“We have a strong team and we’ll see how everybody is feeling after a few stages. Personally, I would love to grab an opportunity from a break and go for a stage win. The longer climbs for GC aren’t my pure strength but I have also improved in that area too, showing that on Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenges that I can climb.”

Alongside Chabbey on the start line for Canyon-SRAM on June 30 will be Alena Amialiusik, who takes on the longest stage-race on the women’s calendar for a 10th time, having twice finished in the top-ten overall.