Elisa Balsamo won her fourth sprint victory in four opportunities at the Giro d’Italia Women, finishing ahead of Maggie Coles-Lyster and Georgia Baker on stage six.
The Italian was launched by team-mate Lucinda Brand, overtaking Coles-Lyster with 50m to go after the Canadian started a bunch sprint to the finish.
Balsamo, who rides for Lidl-Trek, maintains a strong hold on the red points classification jersey in the nine-stage race.
“When you have the best leadout in the world, it’s just easy,” Balsamo said in her post-race interview.
“With Lucinda, everything is much easier because I don’t have to fight for position. I just need to trust her, and I know she’s the best one. It’s more on her than on me, honestly.”
In the general classification, Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen retains the overall leader’s pink jersey, ahead of compatriot Demi Vollering by a minute.
Racing on a mostly flat 159km stage from Ala to Brescello, Van der Breggen broke into the front group after large gusts of wind disrupted the peloton, but was pulled back in by the chasing pack.
Vollering, who is aiming to become only the second rider to win all three Grand Tours in women’s cycling, also pushed on during the intermediate sprint, but was ultimately caught up her rival.
On Friday, the race travels 165km from Sorbolo Mezzani to Salice Terme on a course that features a sole climb, before two weekend mountain stages conclude this year’s event.
