In the arguably biggest women’s stage race in the world, the Giro Rosa (think the Giro d’Italia for women), cyclocross star Marianne Vos took the overall win, as well as four stage wins. The race was nine stages plus a prologue stage, and Vos took over the GC lead early on in the race and held it, even in the mountains where she isn’t the strongest.
“Wauw!! Really proud of Rabo-Liv team who helped me to the fourth victory,” she tweeted post-race after Stage 7. She added, “Fast race today, tomorrow finish uphill, so wish us good luck!”
Here, Marianne Vos won her sixth Cyclocross World Championship with a dominant ride in Louisville, KY. © Nathan Hofferber
She didn’t need good luck, just good legs—even finishing in sixth place in the second to last stage left her in the lead in the GC by 16 seconds, though today was the moment of truth. Unlike many of her cyclocross races where her first place position is all but secured on the first lap, the last stage could make or break the overall win.
She ended up staying in first place in the GC after a tough last stage, with ’crosser, MTBer and roadie Pauline Ferrand-Prevot a mere 15 seconds behind her—the two finished together with Vos in third and Ferrand-Prevot in second behind Great Britain’s Emma Pooley. Ferrand-Prevot is even younger than Vos and has been snagging wins in MTB World Cups all summer, and is often at the front of ’cross races. Is there another Vos in the making?
The only thing better than all of Vos’s stage wins in the Giro Rosa? She’s actually Strava-ing the race, and—no surprise—she’s taking quite a few QOMs as she goes. We’re dying to see what the locals do post-race trying to beat her times. In this data-driven world, it’s pretty great that we can see even her heart rate during the race:
