Donna Rae-Szalinski: “You’ve got to be willing to fight on” after hard Giro Rosa Stage 6
A tough finish to the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia Femminile saw Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Mara Abbott slip out of the overall race lead after having taken the race to her main general classification rivals. The two-time race winner, who pulled on the Pink Jersey after a stunning solo victory in yesterday’s Mortirolo stage, was on the attack for much of the day, but was forced to concede 53 seconds to stage winner Evelyn Stevens (Boels-Dolmans) on the hard, hot climb to the Madonna della Guardia. More significantly, however, Abbott also...
read moreWhat you don’t know about Colnago. Ernesto, the company and the brand.
Ernesto Colnago is 84 years old and from what I can see from observation, he still single headedly runs his company, Colnago. Impressive! He’s an extremely switched on businessman and incredibly passionate. If you ever have the privilege to meet him, you’ll realise you’ve just experienced meeting one of the most honourable man in the cycling industry. I was privileged enough to meet both Ernesto and Alex Colnago 15 years ago and kept sporadic but consistent communication with the family over the next 10 years before an opportunity came up to...
read moreMara Abbott solos into Pink over the Mortirolo on Giro Rosa Stage 5
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Mara Abbott took a stunning solo victory in the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia Femminile, as the race took on the fearsome Mortirolo. The two-time race winner escaped the peloton on the steep slopes of the climb, and opened a gap of almost five minutes over the Pink Jersey group; despite a crash on the technical plateau before the descent, Abbott managed to hold on to enough time to take the race lead herself. Having sat in the chasing group over the climb and descent, Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Elisa Longo...
read moreChloe Hosking gets her first Giro Rosa victory in Stage Three sprint
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Chloe Hosking took her first ever victory in the Giro d’Italia Femminile, as the peloton finished the third stage, between Montagnana and Lendinara, in a bunch sprint. The Australian burst away from the pack as it rounded the final sweeping corner with 300 metres to go, and finished more than a length clear of the race for second place. Marta Tagliaferro (Alé-Cipollini) finished just ahead of Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s stage one winner Giorgia Bronzini in the battle for the podium positions. “That was very, very...
read moreElisa Longo Borghini a close second in Giro Rosa Stage Two
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Elisa Longo Borghini came within just a few metres of victory in the second stage of the Giro d’Italia Femminile, between Tarcento and the uphill finish at Montenars. The Italian Time Trial Champion was narrowly beaten to the line by Evelyn Stevens (Boels-Dolmans), who only managed to squeeze past in the final metres, while Polish Champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Rabo-Liv) narrowly beat Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s two-time Giro winner Mara Abbott in the race for third. “It was very close today, I almost believed I...
read moreGiorgia Bronzini takes Breakaway Sprint win in Giro Rosa Stage One
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Giorgia Bronzini won the opening road stage of the 2016 Giro d’Italia Femminile, between Gaiarine and San Fior, in a sprint from a select breakaway group. The former two-time road World Champion outpaced US Champion Megan Guarnier (Boels-Dolmans) in the race for the line, with Lithuanian Rasa Leleivyte (Aromitalia Vaiano) third after a powerful display from Bronzini’s black and orange teammates. “I told the team in the meeting this morning that I would try to be there because I felt okay,” Bronzini said. “I thought...
read moreSolid start for Longo Borghini and Hosking in Giro Rosa Prologue
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Elisa Longo Borghini was the black and orange team’s best finisher in the opening prologue of the Giro Rosa, with a solid twelfth place. The newly-crowned Italian Time Trial Champion completed the short, flat, two kilometre course, in Gaiarine, in the province of Treviso, in a time of two minutes, 29 seconds, just six seconds behind the winning time of Leah Kirchmann (Liv-Plantur). Rabo-Liv pair Thalia de Jong and Anna van der Breggen completed the podium. “The prologue was alright,” Longo Borghini said. “I started...
read moreMara Abbott: “The Giro is why I’m still a cyclist”
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Mara Abbott will lead the black and orange team into the Giro d’Italia Femminile – the Giro Rosa – with the dual intention of winning a third edition of the only remaining women’s Grand Tour, and preparing herself to represent the United States in the Olympic Games. The 30-year-old Coloradan was named last week as part of a four-rider US team for Rio, but Abbott refuses to let this get in the way of what is always the biggest race of her season. “It’s hard for me to even think about the Olympics...
read moreEmma Johansson wins her sixth Swedish Road Race Championship
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Emma Johansson successfully defended her Swedish National Road Race Championship, taking her sixth career title in Västeras, on the western side of Sweden. The 32-year-old soloed clear of the peloton with just over a quarter of the 120km race remaining, to finish an incredible four minutes, 28 seconds clear of the sprint for second place; won by Sara Mustonen (Liv-Plantur), ahead of former black and orange rider Emilia Fahlin (Alé-Cipollini). “I’m super happy!” Johansson exclaimed afterwards. “It wasn’t easy. It’s...
read moreCordon-Ragot and Sanchis retain French and Spanish Time Trial Titles
Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Audrey Cordon-Ragot and Anna Sanchis have added two more National Time Trial Championships to the black and orange roster, as both riders retained the French and Spanish titles that they took last year. After Elisa Longo Borghini and Emma Johansson took the Italian and Swedish Championships yesterday, this takes the number of national titles in the team to four. Cordon-Ragot completed the 20.7km French Championship course, in Vesoul, in the eastern Franche-Comté region, in a time of 31 minutes and eight seconds....
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