2026 Giro d'Italia Women Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Wiebes Unstoppable in Ravenna
Lorena Wiebes opened the Giro d'Italia Women in dominant fashion on Sunday, sprinting to victory in Stage 1 after a largely controlled day for the peloton on the roads around Cesenatico and Ravenna.
The Team SD Worx-Protime rider proved unbeatable in the bunch sprint, powering clear in the final meters to take the first maglia rosa of the race. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) finished second, while Charlotte Kool (Team Picnic PostNL) rounded out the podium.
The 139-kilometer opener was billed as a dream opportunity for the sprinters, featuring just 100 meters of elevation gain and a flat route along the Adriatic coast. An early breakaway of Sharon Spimi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), Sofia Arici (Vini Fantini-Bepink) and Valeria Curnis (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria) animated the stage, building an advantage of more than four minutes as the peloton settled into the opening day of racing.
Ilaria Marinetto (Team Mendelspeck E-Work) briefly attempted to bridge across to the leaders but eventually abandoned the chase and returned to the bunch.
The break's advantage steadily diminished throughout the afternoon as teams with sprint ambitions took control. Arici claimed maximum points at the day's lone intermediate sprint before the peloton accelerated and reeled in the escapees with just over 50 kilometers remaining.
Several crashes disrupted the stage. Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team) abandoned, while Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Uno-X Mobility), Marinetto, Nina Berton (EF Education-Oatly) and Argyro Milaki (Aromitalia Vaiano) were all involved in separate incidents but were able to continue.
As the race entered the finishing circuits in Cesenatico, positioning became increasingly important. Movistar Team spent much of the day near the front, while UAE Team ADQ and SD Worx-Protime marshaled their forces for the anticipated sprint finish.
Inside the final kilometers, the peloton stretched across the width of the road as sprinters and general classification contenders fought for position. Elisa Longo Borghini helped drive UAE Team ADQ toward the front, while Anna van der Breggen appeared at the head of the bunch to guide the SD Worx leadout.
The finale came down to pure speed. Through the final chicane, Wiebes was perfectly positioned and launched her sprint at exactly the right moment. Despite challenges from Balsamo and Kool, the European champion surged clear to secure her first stage win of the race.
Get our full coverage of the Giro d'Italia Women and every race we cover with our mobile app! The apps have over 100 additional exclusive features, including our award-winning Time Machine feature that lets you pause/rewind/replay the entire app to sync with delayed race video, integrated Fantasy Cycling, push notifications, an integrated news feed, live GPS tracking, world-class commentary, and our animated interactive maps and profiles.
