The 2023 Giro Donne was the 34th edition of the Giro Donne, a women's road cycling stage race that took place in Italy. The race began on the 30 June and ended on 9 July 2023. It was the 20th race in the 2023 UCI Women's World Tour calendar.
| 2023 UCI Women's World Tour, race 20 of 27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 30 June – 9 July 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 928 km (576.6 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 24h 26' 25" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The race was won by Annemiek van Vleuten of Movistar Team for the fourth time, beating Juliette Labous by nearly four minutes. Van Vleuten also won the points and mountains classifications, with Gaia Realini winning the youth classification and the Italian rider classification.[1]
Teams
24 teams participated in the race.[2] Each team had seven riders, one more than the 2022 edition.[3] All 15 UCI Women's WorldTeams were automatically invited. They were joined by 9 UCI Women's Continental Teams selected by organisers PMG Sport/Starlight. The teams were announced on 25 May 2023.[2]
UCI Women's WorldTeams
UCI Women's Continental Teams
Route
In May 2023, the route was announced by organisers PMG Sport/Starlight.[2] The race started in Tuscany with an individual time trial, before heading north-west through the Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Liguria regions. After seven stages, the race transferred to Sardinia for the last two stages.[2] The announcement of the route was criticised, taking place around 1 month prior to the event.[4] The route itself was also criticised, with a drop in the total number of stages and stage length compared to previous editions.[4]
As with the previous editions, the route required a waiver from the Union Cycliste Internationale, as Women's WorldTour races have a maximum race length of six days.[5]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 June | Chianciano | 4.4 km (2.7 mi) |  | Individual time trial | Stage neutralised[a] |
| 2 | 1 July | Bagno a Ripoli to Marradi | 102.1 km (63.4 mi) |  | Medium-mountain stage |  Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) |
| 3 | 2 July | Formigine to Modena | 118.2 km (73.4 mi) |  | Flat stage | Lorena Wiebes (NED) |
| 4 | 3 July | Fidenza to Borgo Val di Taro | 134 km (83 mi) |  | Hilly stage |  Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) |
| 5 | 4 July | Salassa to Ceres | 103.3 km (64.2 mi) |  | Mountain stage |  Antonia Niedermaier (GER) |
| 6 | 5 July | Canelli to Canelli | 104.4 km (64.9 mi) | | Hilly stage | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) |
| 7 | 6 July | Albenga to Alassio | 109.1 km (67.8 mi) | | Hilly stage | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) |
| 7 July | Transfer to Sardinia | |||||
| 8 | 8 July | Nuoro to Sassari | 125.7 km (78.1 mi) | | Hilly stage |  Blanka Vas (HUN) |
| 9 | 9 July | Sassari to Olbia | 126.8 km (78.8 mi) | | Medium-mountain stage | Chiara Consonni (ITA) |
| Total | 928 km (577 mi) | |||||
Summary
Prior to the race, three-time winner Annemiek van Vleuten of Movistar Team was considered the favourite for the victory,[8] with media noting that riders such as Gaia Realini and Elisa Longo Borghini of Lidl–Trek, Mavi Garcia of Liv Racing TeqFind and Niamh Fisher-Black of SD Worx would also be contenders.[8][9] Marta Bastianelli of UAE Team ADQ will retire from professional cycling following her home race.[10]
One day prior to the event, an official start list was not available.[11] The organisation of the race was criticised by Lizzie Deignan, noting the financial difficulties of the organiser.[11]
Stages
Stage 1
- 30 June 2023 — Chianciano, 4.4 km (2.7 mi) (ITT)
The first stage of the 2023 Giro d'Italia Donne featured an individual time trial (ITT) with a length of 4.4 kilometres (2.7 mi) around Chianciano Terme in Tuscany.[6] Heavy rain and thunderstorms affected the stage, with multiple riders crashing including Mavi Garcia and Chloé Dygert of Canyon–SRAM - with Dygert still managing to set the fastest time. 2022 winner van Vleuten then beat Dygert, before the organisers called for a pause due to the weather. Resuming around 20 minutes later, Letizia Paternoster of Team Jayco-AlUla then beat van Vleuten's time by five-hundredths of a second.[7]
With over 100 riders remaining, the organisers paused the stage again due to standing water on the roads and full storm drains.[12][13] The stage was eventually cancelled on the grounds of rider safety using the Extreme Weather Protocol.[7][13] van Vlueten called the stage "a lottery" and that it was good that the stage had been cancelled.[14]
All times set were disregarded, and no classification jerseys were awarded. The race therefore started on stage 2 on Saturday 1 July.[15]
Stage 2
- 1 July 2023 — Bagno a Ripoli to Marradi, 102.1 km (63.4 mi)
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Stage 3
The third stage was neutralised at 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the finish line for safety reasons. Times for the general classification were taken from that point, and the stage had no time bonuses.[18]
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Stage 4
- 3 July 2023 — Fidenza to Borgo Val di Taro, 134 km (83 mi)
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Stage 5
Stage 6
- 5 July 2023 — Canelli to Canelli, 104.4 km (64.9 mi)
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Stage 7
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Rest day
- 7 July 2023 — Sardinia
Stage 8
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Stage 9
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Classification leadership table
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Points classification | Mountains classification | Young rider classification | Italian rider classification | Team classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stage neutralised | ||||||
| 2 | Annemiek van Vleuten | Annemiek van Vleuten | Annemiek van Vleuten | Annemiek van Vleuten | Gaia Realini | Elisa Longo Borghini | FDJ–Suez |
| 3 | Lorena Wiebes | Marta Cavalli | |||||
| 4 | Elisa Longo Borghini | ||||||
| 5 | Antonia Niedermaier | Annemiek van Vleuten | Antonia Niedermaier | Gaia Realini | Lidl–Trek | ||
| 6 | Annemiek van Vleuten | Gaia Realini | |||||
| 7 | Annemiek van Vleuten | Movistar Team | |||||
| 8 | Blanka Vas | ||||||
| 9 | Chiara Consonni | ||||||
| Final | Annemiek van Vleuten | Annemiek van Vleuten | Annemiek van Vleuten | Gaia Realini | Gaia Realini | Movistar Team | |
Classification standings
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| | Denotes the leader of the general classification | | Denotes the leader of the mountains classification |
| | Denotes the leader of the points classification | | Denotes the leader of the young rider classification |
| | Denotes the leader of the Italian rider classification |  | Denotes the winner of the team classification |
General classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | Movistar Team | 24h 26' 25" |
| 2 |  Juliette Labous (FRA) | Team dsm–firmenich | + 3' 56" |
| 3 | Gaia Realini (ITA) | Lidl–Trek | + 4' 23" |
| 4 |  Veronica Ewers (USA) | EF Education–Tibco–SVB | + 5' 34" |
| 5 | Erica Magnaldi (ITA) | UAE Team ADQ | + 5' 34" |
| 6 |  Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (DEN) | FDJ–Suez | + 6' 16" |
| 7 |  Mavi García (ESP) | Liv Racing TeqFind | + 6' 25" |
| 8 | Silvia Persico (ITA) | UAE Team ADQ | + 6' 59" |
| 9 |  Niamh Fisher-Black (NZL) | SD Worx | + 7' 28" |
| 10 | Ane Santesteban (ESP) | Team Jayco–AlUla | + 9' 12" |
Points classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | Movistar Team | 67 |
| 2 | Chloé Dygert (USA) | Canyon–SRAM | 35 |
| 3 | Marianne Vos (NED) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 31 |
| 4 | Juliette Labous (FRA) | Team dsm–firmenich | 30 |
| 5 | Liane Lippert (GER) | Movistar Team | 28 |
| 6 | Silvia Persico (ITA) | UAE Team ADQ | 24 |
| 7 | Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (DEN) | FDJ–Suez | 23 |
| 8 | Veronica Ewers (USA) | EF Education–Tibco–SVB | 20 |
| 9 | Chiara Consonni (ITA) | UAE Team ADQ | 18 |
| 10 | Mavi García (ESP) | Liv Racing TeqFind | 18 |
Mountains classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | Movistar Team | 71 |
| 2 | Gaia Realini (ITA) | Lidl–Trek | 35 |
| 3 | Niamh Fisher-Black (NZL) | SD Worx | 34 |
| 4 | Fem van Empel (NED) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 24 |
| 5 | Marta Cavalli (ITA) | FDJ–Suez | 23 |
| 6 | Veronica Ewers (USA) | EF Education–Tibco–SVB | 18 |
| 7 | Anouska Koster (NED) | Uno-X Pro Cycling Team | 15 |
| 8 | Liane Lippert (GER) | Movistar Team | 15 |
| 9 | Juliette Labous (FRA) | Team dsm–firmenich | 13 |
| 10 | Ane Santesteban (ESP) | Team Jayco–AlUla | 11 |
Young rider classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gaia Realini (ITA) | Lidl–Trek | 24h 30' 48" |
| 2 | Fem van Empel (NED) | Team Jumbo–Visma | + 6' 21" |
| 3 |  Anna Shackley (GBR) | SD Worx | + 8' 15" |
| 4 |  Petra Stiasny (SUI) | Fenix–Deceuninck | + 25' 48" |
| 5 | Shirin van Anrooij (NED) | Lidl–Trek | + 29' 13" |
| 6 | Francesca Barale (ITA) | Team dsm–firmenich | + 31' 37" |
| 7 | Noemi Rüegg (SUI) | Team Jumbo–Visma | + 37' 27" |
| 8 | Blanka Vas (HUN) | SD Worx | + 45' 32" |
| 9 | Gaia Masetti (ITA) | AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step | + 49' 45" |
| 10 | Ally Wollaston (NZL) | AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step | + 50' 30" |
Italian rider classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gaia Realini (ITA) | Lidl–Trek | 21h 11' 15" |
| 2 | Erica Magnaldi (ITA) | UAE Team ADQ | + 1' 11" |
| 3 | Silvia Persico (ITA) | UAE Team ADQ | + 2' 38" |
| 4 | Marta Cavalli (ITA) | FDJ–Suez | + 12' 28" |
| 5 | Barbara Malcotti (ITA) | Human Powered Health | + 19' 45" |
| 6 | Greta Marturano (ITA) | Fenix–Deceuninck | + 19' 59" |
| 7 | Soraya Paladin (ITA) | Canyon–SRAM | + 28' 38" |
| 8 | Francesca Barale (ITA) | Team dsm–firmenich | + 31' 04" |
| 9 | Alessia Viglia (ITA) | Top Girls Fassa Bortolo | + 35' 33" |
| 10 | Francesca Tommasi (ITA) | Team Mendelspeck | + 38' 06" |
Team classification
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Movistar Team | 63h 56' 12" |
| 2 | FDJ–Suez | + 46" |
| 3 | Lidl–Trek | + 10' 45" |
| 4 | Team dsm–firmenich | + 21' 34" |
| 5 | Canyon–SRAM | + 25' 35" |
| 6 |  UAE Team ADQ | + 27' 42" |
| 7 | SD Worx | + 31' 27" |
| 8 |  Team Jayco–AlUla | + 37' 28" |
| 9 |  Fenix–Deceuninck | + 44' 12" |
| 10 | EF Education–Tibco–SVB | + 48' 09" |
Broadcasting
Prior to the race, organisers PMG Sport/Starlight stated that they could not afford the €730,000 cost of TV coverage, which is required for the UCI Women's World Tour. Media reports suggested that without TV coverage, the race could be cancelled.[33] Subsequently, agreement was made between the Italian Cycling Federation and Italian national broadcaster RAI to broadcast the race.[34] CyclingNews reported that each stage would have "roughly one hour" of live coverage on RAI, Eurosport and Global Cycling Network.[11]