If the men’s race is separated by just a handful of minutes, the women’s competition is proving equally balanced. Five riders set the pace in the opening kilometres of Stage 2: overall leader Luiza De Souza, racing despite her crash on the opening day, alongside Lola Bakker, Greete Steinburg, Mara Parisi and Syd Schulz.
On the long descent towards Fanano, De Souza – first over the climb – lost several minutes and effectively dropped out of contention for the overall classification. The after-effects of yesterday’s crash had prevented her from recovering properly, and her performance inevitably suffered.
On the final climb, Steinburg increased the pace decisively, while Bakker and Schulz tried to hold her wheel. Before long, the American found herself alone in pursuit of the Estonian. In the closing kilometres, however, Schulz gradually closed the gap and eventually caught Steinburg, snatching victory in the final metres in 4:45:19.
Just 27 seconds separated the two at the finish, while Mara Parisi crossed the line in third at 1:27 after overtaking Lola Bakker late in the stage. Bakker finished fourth at 3:46, while De Souza lost almost an hour.
“I took the win in the final metres – it was amazing,” said Schulz after the finish. “On the climb to Monte Cimone I was second behind Greete and kept pushing because I knew Lola could come back on the descent. Then, near the end, I saw Greete again and gave everything I had. Yesterday everything went wrong: I punctured and lost a lot of time. Today I felt really strong. I’m probably out of contention for the overall, but I want to enjoy the rest of the race.”
Steinburg could still celebrate taking over the Barbieri PNK Pink Jersey as the new overall leader, with a slender advantage of 1:42 over Lola Bakker. Mara Parisi sits third at 4:39, while Syd Schulz has cut her deficit to 17:32. Luiza De Souza now trails by more than 50 minutes.
“I love this race, the atmosphere and the trails – I enjoyed every kilometre today,” said Greete Steinburg at the finish. “I didn’t want to take too many risks because there are still three days to go. Yesterday I lost time after crashing on a descent, so today I was more cautious. I usually get stronger day after day in stage races and that gives me confidence. The Queen Stage suits me perfectly and I’ve already ridden it in training, so I’ll tackle it with confidence.”
