Among the women, Appenninica seems to have found its queen: Greete Steinburg. The Estonian claimed her second consecutive stage win and now holds a commanding lead over Lola Bakker and Mara Parisi.
The Mountain Queen Stage confirmed what the women’s race has been telling us all week. Despite pressure from her rivals, Greete Steinburg was simply the strongest rider on the road, adding another stage win to her overall lead.
Syd Schulz and Luiza De Souza tested the pace on the opening climb, but Steinburg covered both moves seamlessly. Mara Parisi tried to hold on just behind, while Lola Bakker struggled to find her rhythm in the early going.
As the stage wore on, De Souza’s challenge faded and Steinburg moved to the front. Parisi hit a difficult patch between kilometres 40 and 60, which Bakker used to claw back onto Schulz.
A brief lapse in concentration from Steinburg handed the lead to the Bakker-Schulz duo, but on the descent into Castelnovo ne’ Monti the Estonian reasserted herself with authority. The Barbieri PNK Pink Jersey crossed the line in 6:00:34, with 3:27 over Schulz.
Bakker was third at 4:58 – a result that effectively ends her hopes of defending the 2025 title. Parisi finished fourth at 6:26, De Souza fifth at nearly half an hour.
“Today was brutal – the heat was really something,” said Steinburg. “I’m thrilled with how it went, but my legs were heavy in the finale. There’s one more day and I know it won’t be easy: head down, stay focused.”
Steinburg’s overall lead now stands at 8:20 over Bakker and 14:12 over Parisi. Schulz is fourth at just over thirty minutes, De Souza rounds out the top five.
