Anna van der Breggen finished fourth in the Giro Donne prologue. Marlen Reusser of Switzerland won the opening time trial convincingly.
Van der Breggen was the first of the favorites to race in the time trial around Bergamo. She clocked 17.42 minutes, four seconds faster than Lieke Nooijen, the time trial specialist from Visma-Lease a Bike.
The real favorites were yet to start, and 33-year-old Reusser shattered Van der Breggen’s time. The Dutch rider was twenty seconds slower than Reusser, who is riding for Movistar this year.
“I can’t believe it, this feels very unreal,” Reusser said. It was her ninth victory since her move from SD Worx-Protime to Movistar. “It has always been a dream to wear the pink jersey. I am very happy.”
Van der Breggen also had to acknowledge the superiority of Lotte Kopecky from Belgium and Elisa Longo Borghini from Italy. The 35-year-old from Zwolle won the Giro four times, most recently in 2021. She retired that year, but Van der Breggen decided to return to the peloton this year.
The Giro continues on Monday with a stage from Clusone to Aprica. The road goes uphill in the last 12 kilometers. The Giro ends next Sunday.