USA Women are Creating History
The 21st edition of the Giro Donne saw three USA women winning stages and the GC. This unprecedented result bodes well for the future of U.S women’s cycling.
For the first time in the races history an American woman wins the overall.
Mara Abbott was 2nd in 2009 and this year she had her eye on the maglia rosa touted to be the most difficult Giro Donne to date, Abbott climbed into Pink on stage 8 and never looked back and took top honors with commanding style, finishing over 2 minutes ahead of 2nd place Judith Arndt from HTC Columbia.
"The courses were amazing," Abbott said. "It was so special to have the opportunity to win at the top of a climb like Stelvio. I came into the Giro knowing inside that I had the strength to win but that I would need luck, my team and a lot of mental fortitude. All of these things came through for me to an even greater extent than I ever could have imagined."
The final Stage Autodromo Di Monza - Monza 112.7km a fast flat stage, the goal was to protect Mara’s lead. If the race stayed together then her fellow National Team / Peanut Butter & Co.TWENTY12 team mate, Shelley Evans was going for a stage win.
The team averted any breakaways, securing Abbott’s GC. Evans was set up for the sprint. She managed to hold off a charging Cervelo Test Team rider, Kristen Wild and Georgia Bronzini of Gauss RDZ Ormu to take the 3rd stage victory in a row for USA. a huge result for newly crowned U.S National Criterium Champion Shelley Evans.
For Evans and her teammates it was the perfect way to end the 10 tough days of the UCI 2.2 Giro Ciclistico Internazionale Femminile, commonly known as the Giro Donne.
This U.S team created history, the Maglia Rosa comes to the USA for the very first time.
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