Italian Grand Tour ends in Cividale del Friuli

Mavi García -5th in final stage-, Eider Merino -8th overall- lead brilliant performance by whole Telefónica-backed squad - second best team in GC.

From an uncertain participation in the race just two months before the start, to a lead role, deserving to be called one of the best women’s squads in the WorldTour. The Movistar Team completed a great performance in the 2018 Giro Rosa as it drew to a close on Sunday, its seven riders all holding generous shares of responsibility and protagonism over the team’s success.

It was Malgorzata Jasinska’s turn to be active for the Jorge Sanz-led team in the final stage -120km around Cividale del Friuli-, making a 13-rider breakaway which reached more than 3′ gap before being neutralized in the opening slopes of the decisive climb, Castelmonte (Cat-1). Mavi García then tried, together with Frenchwoman Juliette Labous (SUN), to anticipate a GC group from which race leader Annemiek Van Vleuten (MTS) jumped to take all honours at the finish.

Behind the solo Maglia Rosa, a pursuit group -27″ behind- included a fine García in 5th place, while Eider Merino took 11th (+1’15”) and Jasinska finished in 17th (+3’04”). The Movistar Team thus secured Eider’s GC top-ten position -eighth- and also came close with Mavi -11th, 18″ behind 10th-placed Elisa Longo Borghini (WHT)-, also becoming second in the team GC, just over 5′ behind Sunweb.

Picture (c): Sean Robinson / Vélofocus