Giro d'Italia Donne 2023: Annemiek van Vleuten powers away from rivals in style to take Stage 6 and secure grip on pink

A monstrous performance from world champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) saw her power away from the peloton and take the win on Stage 6, tightening her grip on the pink jersey at the 2023 Giro d'Italia Donne. The stage was again marred by misfortune for a rider high up in the general classification. Ahead of the finale white jersey holder Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon–SRAM) was caught up in a bad crash that led to her leaving the race in an ambulance.

Ad The 103km loop out of Canelli took place in high temperatures but nonetheless under a cloud, with news that the Italian champion, and winner of Stage 4, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) would not begin the stage after crashing badly on Tuesday. The shape of the stage was also — literally — altered by roadworks which forced organisers to bring the finish 2km down the final climb. That brought it within the bounds of Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) who, despite showing climbing prowess, is better known as a super sprinter.

Giro d'Italia Donne'What a champion she is!' — Watch the finish to Stage 6 as Van Vleuten takes victory3 HOURS AGO That, plus the backending of the classified climbs, also rendered any breakaway effort even less likely to hit the target. Indeed, for the entire first half of the stage every effort even to establish something proved fruitless. With 50km remaining, the peloton seemed satisfied to allow Elinor Barker (Uno-X) and Petra Stiasny (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to slip away.