Description
June 4, 2026
37th Giro d’Italia Women 2026 🇮🇹 (2.WWT) WE – Stage 6 – Ala – Brescello : 160 km
Giro d’Italia Women is a UCI Women’s WorldTour classification that stands as one of the most prestigious and demanding stage races in women’s cycling,
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June 4, 2026
37th Giro d’Italia Women 2026 🇮🇹 (2.WWT) WE – Stage 6 – Ala – Brescello : 160 km
Giro d’Italia Women is a UCI Women’s WorldTour classification that stands as one of the most prestigious and demanding stage races in women’s cycling, traversing the diverse and breathtaking landscapes of Italy. The course is a masterful blend of high-altitude mountain passes, rolling hills, and fast, technical descents, with each stage designed to test a different facet of a rider’s ability. The mountainous stages are the race’s centerpiece, featuring legendary climbs with gradients often exceeding 10% on narrow, winding roads that snake through the Alps and Dolomites. These ascents are long and grueling, with irregular pitches, exposed sections, and thin air at higher altitudes amplifying the effort required to maintain pace. The descents are equally challenging, with tight hairpins and uneven surfaces demanding precision and courage. The race dynamics are shaped by these relentless climbs, where attacks often launch on the steepest sections, thinning the peloton to a select group of elite climbers. The flatter stages, while less decisive, are far from straightforward, with crosswinds and technical run-ins through historic towns or along coastal roads adding layers of complexity. The final kilometers of key stages often feature a decisive climb or a fast, technical finish, where a reduced group of riders contests the line in a sprint or a solo escapee holds off the chasers by a narrow margin. The Giro d’Italia Women is a race that rewards climbing prowess, tactical intelligence, and resilience, embodying the grandeur and challenge of Italy’s most iconic roads.
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) confirmed her status as the strongest sprinter in the Giro d’Italia Women by winning stage 6 in a sprint ahead of Maggie Coles-Lyster (Human Powered Health) and Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco).
65km from the finish, Uno-X Mobility pushed through the town of Volta Mantovana and split the peloton in the crosswinds. A.o. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), Elisa Longo Borghini, and Lara Gillespie (both UAE Team ADQ) were caught out in the second group while a.o. Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal), and Femke de Vries (Visma-Lease a Bike) were in the third group.
The high speed spelled the end for the early break of four riders, and the group with Vollering made it back after a few kilometres. Reusser & co. had to chase hard until they closed the gap with 46.5km to go. Vollering and Van der Breggen tried to snatch time bonifications in the intermediate sprint but could not beat the sprinters.
Giorgia Serena (Mendelspeck E-Work) went on a solo attack with 22.5km to go and briefly held a one-minute advantage before being reeled in 9km from the finish, setting up a bunch sprint.
A crash in a tight turn 1.2km from the line stretched out the peloton, and Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) piloted Balsamo through the technical finish. Coles-Lyster opened her sprint 250m from the finish through a slight right-hander, but Balsamo came off the Canadian’s wheel with 150m to go to win.
“When you have the best lead-out in the world, it’s just easy. I mean, it’s never easy, but with Lucinda, I don’t have to fight for position. I just need to trust her, and I know she’s the best one. So, this victory is more on her than on me, honestly,” said Balsamo.
“A lot of sprinters thought it was a really good opportunity today. I could see a lot of full lead-outs in the last kilometres. Fleur, Lucinda, and I were just jumping, and at one point we found the perfect place behind Fenix-Premier Tech.
“This morning on the bus, we said that we want to take the corner at 1.3k in the front. I don’t care if I’m in second position because I just want to be safe and then I can manage somehow. But Lucinda was just so strong that she brought me to 200m to go, it was perfect,” Balsamo described the final.
How it unfolded
Covering 159km from Ala to Brescello, this was the longest stage of the nine-day race. A break of four riders formed right after the start, and the peloton was happy to see Camilla Bezzone (Mendelspeck E-Work), Sharon Spimi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), Gaia Segato, and Irene Cagnazzo (both Vini Fantini-BePink) build an advantage of over four minutes.
From km 20, the stage followed the shoreline of Lake Garda southward for 60km, and the race situation didn’t change much as everybody enjoyed a relatively relaxed ride after the previous day in the Dolomites. In Bardolino, the peloton was cheered on by Floortje Mackaij and Lorena Wiebes who are currently holidaying in the area, the latter having been disqualified from the race after stage 1.
Leaving Lake Garda behind, the sprinters’ teams slowly started to chase down the breakaway. Uno-X Mobility came to the fore on the brief uphill on narrow streets passing through Volta Mantovana, followed by a short but steep and winding descent, and the team pushed on into the crosswinds, splitting the peloton into three groups.
Maglia rosa Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), Balsamo, and Baker were in the first group, as was Balsamo, but Vollering, Longo Borghini, Gillespie, Coles-Lyster, and white jersey Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek), and De Vries had been caught out and were among the riders chasing in the second group.
Reusser, Žigart, and Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) were among the riders even further back in a third group, with Movistar immediately taking up the chase with the whole team. When the first two groups merged with 57km to go, catching the breakaway soon after, Reusser’s group was still 37 seconds behind, and it took another ten kilometres of chasing for this group to get back to the peloton.
The intermediate sprint was won by Balsamo ahead of Femke Gerritse (SD Worx-Protime) and Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike), with Vollering and Van der Breggen missing out on the bonus seconds.
After a lull in the action, Serena attacked with 22.5km to go, and the Italian Continental rider was judged not to be a danger for the sprinters’ teams, quickly getting a minute’s advantage. When the peloton started the chase, they quickly closed the gap, catching Serena on the bridge across the Po River.
Aware of the technical finish with seven turns in the last 1200m, the sprint trains lined up on the run-in to Brescello. Vollering and Longo Borghini killed two birds with one stone by pulling hard to help their sprinters and simultaneously stay at the front of the peloton themselves.
Brand had the inside line through the first tight turn past a roundabout where the narrowing road and traffic islands led to a crash involving Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech), Alicia González (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93), Andrea Casagranda (Vini Fantini-BePink), and Matilde Vitillo (Liv AlUla Jayco).
The crash contributed to stretching out the peloton, with Brand, Balsamo, and Coles-Lyster even getting a small gap at the front. About 20 riders came onto the last 500m together, and Coles-Lyster went first through the last corner, but Balsamo came around the Canadian to win her fourth stage in this Giro.
Results :
 WE - Stage 6 </strong> - Ala - Brescello : 160 km
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Giro d’Italia Women is a UCI Women’s WorldTour classification that stands as one of the most prestigious and demanding stage races in women’s cycling, traversing the diverse and breathtaking landscapes of Italy. The course is a masterful blend of high-altitude mountain passes, rolling hills, and fast, technical descents, with each stage designed to test a different facet of a rider’s ability. The mountainous stages are the race’s centerpiece, featuring legendary climbs with gradients often exceeding 10% on narrow, winding roads that snake through the Alps and Dolomites. These ascents are long and grueling, with irregular pitches, exposed sections, and thin air at higher altitudes amplifying the effort required to maintain pace. The descents are equally challenging, with tight hairpins and uneven surfaces demanding precision and courage. The race dynamics are shaped by these relentless climbs, where attacks often launch on the steepest sections, thinning the peloton to a select group of elite climbers. The flatter stages, while less decisive, are far from straightforward, with crosswinds and technical run-ins through historic towns or along coastal roads adding layers of complexity. The final kilometers of key stages often feature a decisive climb or a fast, technical finish, where a reduced group of riders contests the line in a sprint or a solo escapee holds off the chasers by a narrow margin. The Giro d’Italia Women is a race that rewards climbing prowess, tactical intelligence, and resilience, embodying the grandeur and challenge of Italy’s most iconic roads.
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) confirmed her status as the strongest sprinter in the Giro d'Italia Women by winning stage 6 in a sprint ahead of Maggie Coles-Lyster (Human Powered Health) and Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco).
65km from the finish, Uno-X Mobility pushed through the town of Volta Mantovana and split the peloton in the crosswinds. A.o. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), Elisa Longo Borghini, and Lara Gillespie (both UAE Team ADQ) were caught out in the second group while a.o. Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal), and Femke de Vries (Visma-Lease a Bike) were in the third group.
The high speed spelled the end for the early break of four riders, and the group with Vollering made it back after a few kilometres. Reusser & co. had to chase hard until they closed the gap with 46.5km to go. Vollering and Van der Breggen tried to snatch time bonifications in the intermediate sprint but could not beat the sprinters.
Giorgia Serena (Mendelspeck E-Work) went on a solo attack with 22.5km to go and briefly held a one-minute advantage before being reeled in 9km from the finish, setting up a bunch sprint.
A crash in a tight turn 1.2km from the line stretched out the peloton, and Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek) piloted Balsamo through the technical finish. Coles-Lyster opened her sprint 250m from the finish through a slight right-hander, but Balsamo came off the Canadian's wheel with 150m to go to win.
“When you have the best lead-out in the world, it’s just easy. I mean, it’s never easy, but with Lucinda, I don’t have to fight for position. I just need to trust her, and I know she’s the best one. So, this victory is more on her than on me, honestly,” said Balsamo.
“A lot of sprinters thought it was a really good opportunity today. I could see a lot of full lead-outs in the last kilometres. Fleur, Lucinda, and I were just jumping, and at one point we found the perfect place behind Fenix-Premier Tech.
"This morning on the bus, we said that we want to take the corner at 1.3k in the front. I don’t care if I’m in second position because I just want to be safe and then I can manage somehow. But Lucinda was just so strong that she brought me to 200m to go, it was perfect,” Balsamo described the final.
<strong>How it unfolded</strong>
Covering 159km from Ala to Brescello, this was the longest stage of the nine-day race. A break of four riders formed right after the start, and the peloton was happy to see Camilla Bezzone (Mendelspeck E-Work), Sharon Spimi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), Gaia Segato, and Irene Cagnazzo (both Vini Fantini-BePink) build an advantage of over four minutes.
From km 20, the stage followed the shoreline of Lake Garda southward for 60km, and the race situation didn’t change much as everybody enjoyed a relatively relaxed ride after the previous day in the Dolomites. In Bardolino, the peloton was cheered on by Floortje Mackaij and Lorena Wiebes who are currently holidaying in the area, the latter having been disqualified from the race after stage 1.
Leaving Lake Garda behind, the sprinters’ teams slowly started to chase down the breakaway. Uno-X Mobility came to the fore on the brief uphill on narrow streets passing through Volta Mantovana, followed by a short but steep and winding descent, and the team pushed on into the crosswinds, splitting the peloton into three groups.
Maglia rosa Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), Balsamo, and Baker were in the first group, as was Balsamo, but Vollering, Longo Borghini, Gillespie, Coles-Lyster, and white jersey Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek), and De Vries had been caught out and were among the riders chasing in the second group.
Reusser, Žigart, and Marion Bunel (Visma-Lease a Bike) were among the riders even further back in a third group, with Movistar immediately taking up the chase with the whole team. When the first two groups merged with 57km to go, catching the breakaway soon after, Reusser’s group was still 37 seconds behind, and it took another ten kilometres of chasing for this group to get back to the peloton.
The intermediate sprint was won by Balsamo ahead of Femke Gerritse (SD Worx-Protime) and Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike), with Vollering and Van der Breggen missing out on the bonus seconds.
After a lull in the action, Serena attacked with 22.5km to go, and the Italian Continental rider was judged not to be a danger for the sprinters’ teams, quickly getting a minute’s advantage. When the peloton started the chase, they quickly closed the gap, catching Serena on the bridge across the Po River.
Aware of the technical finish with seven turns in the last 1200m, the sprint trains lined up on the run-in to Brescello. Vollering and Longo Borghini killed two birds with one stone by pulling hard to help their sprinters and simultaneously stay at the front of the peloton themselves.
Brand had the inside line through the first tight turn past a roundabout where the narrowing road and traffic islands led to a crash involving Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech), Alicia González (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber 93), Andrea Casagranda (Vini Fantini-BePink), and Matilde Vitillo (Liv AlUla Jayco).
The crash contributed to stretching out the peloton, with Brand, Balsamo, and Coles-Lyster even getting a small gap at the front. About 20 riders came onto the last 500m together, and Coles-Lyster went first through the last corner, but Balsamo came around the Canadian to win her fourth stage in this Giro.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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