Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) won the stage 4 uphill time trial from Belluno to Nevegal at the Giro d'Italia Women and moved into the Maglia Rosa with a lead of more than a minute over every GC rival. It is her first time in pink since 2021, and it came on an uphill time trial, just like in 2021.
Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) finished second at 1:04. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) was third, six seconds further back. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) lost 1:51. Nearly two minutes now separate first from tenth on GC.
Van der Breggen, who came into the Giro with her team publicly targeting a top five rather than overall victory, was direct about what the result meant and what it did not settle. "Getting it is one, and then always wearing it is another difficult task, especially a lot of stages are still coming up," she said in her post-race TV interview. "Goal 1 is finished and that deserves a great celebration. And then to keep the jersey is the next one."
She said the win carried personal weight after two difficult years working back to this level. "I really did not expect this. I hope I'm an example that you need to keep fighting and then in the end it will come again," she said. "It really feels like I worked really hard the last two years to get to this point actually again."
World ITT champion Reusser was quick to congratulate Van der Breggen on her ride, giving the Dutch star a big hug while she was still in a heap on the road after her effort. Speaking to Eurosport after the stage, the Swiss rider said she felt she made mistakes on the day. "I missed the moment to really go really deep today. Just felt too good," she said
She also added that maybe, in hindsight, using the time trial bike like Van der Breggen, Vollering and others could have worked more in her favour than the road bike she selected. "I think maybe it was smarter to TT bike, but I wouldn't say if I had a TT bike I win," she said. She was full of praise for her former teammate and sport director: "A minute, that Anna is faster, is a lot. Really chapeau, really good performance."
Reusser says she had something more to give but didn't take the opportunity to use it. With the stages still to come, the Movistar leader will certainly look to use every chance she gets to take time. This can come at any point when it comes to Reusser as the Swiss star is a pure opportunist with excellent ability on the climbs but also on the flat as well.
Stage 4 Results
Belluno - Nevegal • Jun 2 • 12.7km
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Anna VAN DER BREGGEN | SDWTeam SD Worx-Protime | 31:38 |
| 🥈 | Marlen REUSSER | MOVMovistar Team | +1:04 |
| 🥉 | Demi VOLLERING | FDSFDJ United-Suez | +1:10 |
| 4 | Antonia NIEDERMAIER | CSRCanyon-SRAM zondacrypto | +1:26 |
| 5 | Monica TRINCA COLONEL | LAJLiv-AlUla-Jayco | +1:31 |
| 6 | Lauren DICKSON | FDSFDJ United-Suez | +1:38 |
| 7 | Femke DE VRIES | TVLTeam Visma | Lease a Bike | +1:39 |
| 8 | Elisa LONGO BORGHINI | UADUAE Team ADQ | +1:51 |
| 9 | Urška ŽIGART | AGSAG Insurance-Soudal Team | +1:54 |
| 10 | Isabella HOLMGREN | LTKLidl-Trek | +1:55 |
| 11 | Niamh FISHER-BLACK | LTKLidl-Trek | +2:12 |
| 12 | Lore DE SCHEPPER | AGSAG Insurance-Soudal Team | +2:30 |
| 13 | Nadia GONTOVA | LAJLiv-AlUla-Jayco | +2:44 |
| 14 | Valentina CAVALLAR | SDWTeam SD Worx-Protime | +2:53 |
| 15 | Cecilie Uttrup LUDWIG | CSRCanyon-SRAM zondacrypto | +2:54 |
| 16 | Mie Bjørndal OTTESTAD | UXMUno-X Mobility | +2:57 |
| 17 | Solène MULLER | STMSt Michel-Préférence Home-Auber93 | +2:59 |
| 18 | Sigrid Ytterhus HAUGSET | UXMUno-X Mobility | +3:05 |
| 19 | Marion BUNEL | TVLTeam Visma | Lease a Bike | +3:13 |
| 20 | Mireia BENITO | AGSAG Insurance-Soudal Team | +3:22 |
Rain, descents and a thinner team
The buffer that Van der Breggen now has is a good one and she will be thankful for it as they go into very testing terrain. Stage 5 from Longarone to Santo Stefano di Cadore is the first full mountain road stage, with 3,200m of climbing, the biggest vertical gain of the race. Rain had already started falling at Nevegal for the last few riders finishing, and Van der Breggen expects more.
"Tomorrow will be a really, really difficult stage, also technical downhills. When it's raining like this, even more," she said. The wet roads and technical descents will provide extra stress for her now very depleted SD Worx-Protime squad and that is where the team's losses start to matter. Mikayla Harvey, one of Van der Breggen's key mountain domestiques, crashed on stage 3 and withdrew overnight. Lorena Wiebes, the team's sprinter, was disqualified after stage 1 when her bike weighed 6.78kg, 20 grams below the UCI minimum. Two riders gone before the race reached the high mountains.
Van der Breggen knows that this will make it harder for her and her team. "Miki (Harvey) crashed yesterday, one of my teammates, and she's out of the race, which is really difficult for her," she said. "Stage racing is something that you do together, staff and riders."
Her big name rivals have cards to play, as well. This makes the lack of numbers even more critical for Van der Breggen. The world's most dominant team at the moment, FDJ United-Suez, have Vollering in third but also have rising British star Lauren Dickson who has been showing superb form in the recent Itzulia Basque Country and Durango-Durango. She sits in 6th overall at 1:38, meaning she gives an excellent option for the French squad to go on the offensive early.
UAE Team ADQ don't have the GC position they would want but they have brough a very strong team to back Longo Borghini to be aggressive. Lidl-Trek have two riders in 10th and 11th in GC with Isabella Holmgren and Niamh Fisher-Black at 1:55 and 2:12 respectively. That gives them a good hand of cards, just as Liv-AlUla-Jayco have with Monica Trinca Colonel in 5th at 1:31 and Nadia Gontova in 13th at 2:44 – giving them plenty of options in the fight for the best GC placings possible.
Teams will be mindful of Van der Breggen's inconsistencies in recent races, as well. She won stage 6 of La Vuelta Femenina in dominant style, like stage 4 of the Giro, but a day later she lost the race to Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) losing almost a minute.
Van der Breggen was clear-eyed about the shift ahead. "I know a time trial is always different than a road race," she said. "It's good that I can defend and see what's happening." Stage 5 will be the first test of whether a minute is enough when the race moves from individual effort to team tactics on soaked Dolomite roads.
