Lara Gillespie looked shattered after the Giro opening stage, but is now bumped up to 2nd and is in with a big shot of taking the race lead tomorrow (Photo: Facepeeters)
Lara Gillespe (UAE Team ADQ) is now bumped up to 2nd on the opening stage at Giro d’Italia and 2nd overall after the initially declared winner of the stage, Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime), was disqualified.
That obviously means the Dutch sprinter is out of the race. Her exit completely changes the dynamic of the sprint stages to come as she is regarded as the fastest woman in the world.
Wiebes was found to be riding a bike that did not comply with the UCI's rules for the minimum weight of bikes.
It is a major blunder by her team as she went into the race hoping to pick off a couple of stages and her disqualification means those chances are gone.
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl Trek), who crossed the line in 2nd place today, is now bumped up to the winner of the stage and into the race leader's maglia rosa.
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Gillespie, 3rd over the line today, is now up to 2nd overall, just four seconds off the race lead. She now has a big chance of taking the race lead tomorrow, which looks like another stage for the sprinters.
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And as Wiebes is now gone, Gillespie and Balsamo – along with the other sprinters – will fancy their chances of a stage win even more.
The one downside is that, with Wiebes out of the race, her SD Worx-Protime team will not be as keen to do the work on the front in closing down breakaways, which could encourage attackers.
The Giro confirmed Wiebes "originally first across the finish line, was disqualified by the jury".
"Lorena Wiebes was expelled from the Giro d’Italia Women following a breach of article 2.12.007 – 2.2: use of a bicycle not in compliance with the regulations, specifically failing to meet the minimum weight requirements.
"Therefore, the victory in the opening stage is awarded to Elisa Balsamo, who will start tomorrow in the maglia rosa."
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