Marianne Vos will not start in the Giro d’Italia on Saturday, according to her team Visma-Lease a Bike. The 38-year-old Dutch rider no longer had a chance of winning the overall title.
“Vos has not been feeling optimal in recent days and in consultation with the team doctor and the team management it has been decided to leave the race,” writes Visma-Lease a Bike. The multiple world champion will now work towards the Tour de France Femmes, which starts in two weeks and lasts a week.
Vos finished second in the fifth stage of the Giro on Thursday behind Lorena Wiebes, but was far behind in the general classification. Vos was number 49, almost half an hour behind the Swiss pink jersey wearer Marlen Reusser. Anna van der Breggen is the best Dutch rider at 1 minute and 53 seconds from Reusser. She is third.
The Giro continues on Saturday with a mountain stage over 150 kilometers from Fermignano to Monte Nerone. The eighth and final stage is scheduled for Sunday.
The Italian Elisa Longo Borghini took the overall victory in the Giro last year. Annemiek van Vleuten, who has since stopped, was the last Dutch winner of the Italian cycling tour in 2023.