Balsamo Wins Stage 2 of Women's Giro d'Italia, Takes Early Lead
Balsamo took the 156 km stage ending in Caorle with a sprint 200 m from the line. She now leads the general classification by eight seconds after nine stages remain.
bbc.co.ukElisa Balsamo won the second stage of the women's Giro d'Italia on Sunday, finishing the 156 km route just outside Venice ahead of Lara Gillespie and Chiara Consonni in Caorle. The 28-year-old Lidl-Trek rider launched her sprint 200 m from the line to secure the victory. Balsamo had already been awarded the opening stage after Lorena Wiebes was disqualified for a bike weight violation.
The same three riders occupied the podium in both stages. "I have been waiting for this win so much," Balsamo said. "I'm just so happy. I want to say a big thank you to my team-mates because they did an amazing job the whole day.
And then I just did a really good sprint. " "I was just completely focused on the finish line and I pushed until the end because I knew that everyone could come from the back, they are so strong," she added. Balsamo leads the general classification in 7 hours 15 minutes 51 seconds.
Gillespie trails by eight seconds in second place, while Consonni sits third, 12 seconds behind. The main peloton is 20 seconds adrift. The nine-stage race concludes on 7 June.
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