The 34th edition of the Giro Donne came to an end Sunday afternoon. In the bunch sprint Rachele Barbieri took another top-10 result for Liv Racing TeqFind.
The ninth and final stage of the Giro Donne brought the riders to Olbia. After a hilly part of the race with a lot of attacks one rider managed to get into the final kilometres with a small lead. The lonely escapee was caught eventually, so a sprint had to bring the decision in this final stage. Rachele Barbieri was in the front of the bunch and aimed for a good result.
With 300 meters to go Barbieri launched her sprint. With 100 metres to go Chiara Consonni passed her with some riders in her wheel. Barbieri finished in sixth place. “In the final metres I was well positioned in the wheel of Marianne Vos, but an other rider pushed me out of that wheel. Then I had to close the gap and that costed some energy. At 300 metres I decided to go and make it a long sprint. In the final metres my speed dropped and the others could pass me. Still I am satisfied, I am back fighting for the podium and that feels good”, commented Barbieri after the race.
Annemiek van Vleuten took home the maglia rosa. Spanish champion Mavi Garcia concluded the race in seventh place, which meant the eight top-10 result for the team in this race.