Giro d'Italia Women 2024: The most important facts in brief
- Date: 7 - 14 July 2024
- Distance~ 876.7 kilometres, 8 stages
- 11,950 metres in altitude
- Start: Brescia, GoalL'Aquila
- Profile: three hilly stages, two mountain finishes, two flat stages, one individual time trial
- UCI category: Women's World Tour
- OrganiserRCS Sport
- Premiere: 1988, 35th edition
- Title defenderAnnemiek van Vleuten
- The route: all stages at a glance
- TV broadcast & live stream
The TOUR favourites by stars*
* Liane Lippert, Cedrine Kerbaol, Pauliena Rooijakkers, Silvia Persico, Erica Magnaldi
** Elise Chabbey, Antonia Niedermaier, Mavi Garcia, Kim Cadzow, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Marlen Reusser, Niamh Fisher-Black
*** Neve Bradbury, Gaia Realini
**** Lotte Kopecky, Juliette Labous
***** Elisa Longo Borghini
* The more stars a driver receives, the stronger she is rated
Longo Borghini goes for overall victory
Because Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx - Protime), who has been overpowering this season, is not at the start of the Giro d'Italia Women 2024, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) is the top favourite for the Trofeo Luce Infinita. The Italian has shown in the current season that she is one of the strongest riders behind the Dutchwoman: with podium finishes at the Vuelta Femenina and most recently at the Tour de Suisse, she can now attack at the very front.
Although she "only" came third in both tours, she only just missed out on second place in each case. The 32-year-old seems vulnerable on long climbs - so other riders could annoy her on the extremely difficult 7th stage. Longo Borghini is all the stronger on classic terrain, where she could distance herself from one or two other mountain specialists. In the spring, the Italian literally rained down podium places in the spring classics: first place at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, second place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and third place at the Fleche Wallonne. Her experience, this year's successes and her form speak for themselves - she is the top favourite in the race.
How is Kopecky doing?
Should Longo Borghini have problems on stage 7, Gaia Realini should be the B option for Lidl-Trek. The lightweight has her qualities on long climbs, but has not really arrived this season. Last year she finished on the podium at the Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d'Italia, but this year she has yet to make a mark.
Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich) is probably even more dangerous than Realini. At last year's Giro, she finished second directly ahead of Realini and was only beaten by van Vleuten, who has since ended her career. She also finished a strong fifth in last year's Tour de France. Her current form is also good: With fifth place at the Tour de Suisse, fourth place at the Vuelta Femenina and third place at the Tour of the Basque Country, she now seems ready for the big time. As a strong climber, she should be in contention for victory at the Blockhaus. The newly crowned French road cycling champion is definitely a force to be reckoned with at the Giro d'Italia Women 2024.
Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx - Protime) is actually a classics rider, but it is often forgotten that she is also extremely strong in tours. She finished a strong second in the 2023 Tour de France and also performed more than respectably in the mountain stages. This season, she also celebrated overall victory at the UAE Tour after winning a mountain finish. Most recently, she won the Belgian road race and time trial championships - so she is ready to challenge Longo Borghini and Labous. And this time, Demi Vollering won't have to work as a helper, she will probably have all the freedom she needs.
What can Bradbury and Niedermaier achieve?
Neve Bradbury is probably the hottest ticket for the German team Canyon//SRAM Racing. The young Australian is celebrating her big breakthrough this season. She recently rode in the Tour de Suisse, where she stormed to second place overall. She was only beaten by Demi Vollering and managed to leave the likes of Longo Borghini and Labous behind her. She has two outstanding helpers in her team: Elise Chabbey and Antonia Niedermaier have recently shown how strong they are in tours and especially in the mountains. The German in particular could be the surprise of the Giro d'Italia Women 2024 and step out of the shadow of Kasia Niewiadoma, who will not be at the start in Italy.
Behind Lotte Kopecky, the SD Worx - Protime team has two more aces up its sleeve: Niamh Fisher-Black proved at the 2024 Vuelta that she can be the B option behind the Belgian. Marlen Reusser is also competing for the Dutch team. After a strong year in 2023, including overall victory at the Tour de Suisse, she hasn't really got into her stride this season. Should Kopecky run into problems, both riders have the class to take on the captain's role.
Lippert with a chance of finishing in the top ten
Movistar's Liane Lippert feels particularly at home in the classics, where she is one of the world's best riders. If she manages not to lose too much time on the Blockhaus stage, a top ten place in the Tour of Italy is possible. On the climbs, however, the German has clear deficits compared to the top riders in the classification.
Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale), who celebrated her breakthrough this season, could also surprise. She attracted attention at the Tour de Suisse with eighth place and strong performances. In addition, the more established riders around Mavi Garcia (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez) are always a force to be reckoned with.
