The Giro Rosa (UCI Women's WorldTour) starts this Friday with a team time trial of nearly 17 kilometres in Grosseto (Tuscany). CCC-Liv starts with a strong squad, consisting of Sofia Bertizzolo, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Soraya Paladin, Sabrina Stultiens, Marianne Vos and Pauliena Rooijakkers.
“It is the first race for Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio since her crash in the run-up to the Strade Bianche. She feels good and wants to prove herself. The training data confirms that she is in good shape. We hope it shows in competition and that Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio will be able to go for a good classification. The second stage to Arcidosso is already a very challenging one. This stage will make it somewhat clear what the proportions are in the peloton”, says sports director Jeroen Blijlevens.
“We would like to compete in this race for stage wins. So we will try to be in the breakaways. We know what Marianne Vos is capable of - she won four stages last year. But I also have high hopes from the others. Soraya Paladin, for instance, finished in the top ten in seven stages last year. Who knows, she might take a win this year. The advantage of CCC-Liv is that the team is quite strong in width. Pauliena Rooijakkers, Sabrina Stultiens and Sofia Bertizzolo are also in good shape.”
- First stage (Friday 11 September): Grosseto - Grosseto (16,8 kilometres – team time trial)
- Second stage (Saturday 12 September): Civitella Paganico - Arcidosso (124,8 kilometres)
- Third stage (Sunday 13 September): Santa Fiora - Assisi (142,2 kilometres)
- Fourth stage (Monday 14 September): Assisi - Tivoli (170,3 kilometres)
- Fifth stage (Tuesday 15 September): Terracina - Terracina (110,3 kilometres)
- Sixth stage (Wednesday 16 September): Torre del Greco - Nola (97,5 kilometres)
- Seventh stage (Thursday 17 September): Nola - Maddaloni (112,6 kilometres)
- Eighth stage (Friday 18 September): Castelnuovo della Daunia - San Marco la Catola (91,5 kilometres)
- Ninth stage (Saturday 19 September): Motta Montecorvino - Motta Montecorvino (109,9 kilometres)
Photo credits: Cor Vos
