Race favourite Demi Vollering won stage five of the women's Giro d'Italia on Wednesday while her Dutch compatriot Anna Van der Breggen retained the overall leader's pink jersey.
The first mountain stage of this year's Giro failed to separate the favourites but a four-way sprint between them was settled by Vollering after Van der Breggen had made relentless efforts to drop the others in the run through the Dolomites.
🔻 Four riders. One stage win.
— Giro d'Italia Women (@girowomen) June 3, 2026
Everything comes down to the final 1000 metres ⚡
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🔻 Quattro atlete. Una vittoria di tappa.
Tutto si decide negli ultimi 1000 metri ⚡
⏪ #GirodItaliaWomen #WonderfulWomen #WOW @continentaltire pic.twitter.com/kvoIYUJtcX
"It was a very hard day, with the race splitting much earlier than expected," Vollering said after the 146km ride to Santo Stefano di Cadore.
"Fortunately, I had Lauren Dickson with me, and she kept the pace high before I launched my attack. Now we need to avoid any risks over the next two stages before Saturday's queen stage."
Finishing in the same time as the Dutch duo were Antonia Niedermaier and Isabella Holmgren.
Reigning two-time champion Elisa Longo Borghini got dropped, but the Italian but rallied back to lose just 15 seconds on the day, crossing the line fifth.
Starting the stage second overall after a fine individual time trial on Tuesday, Swiss ace Marlen Reusser dropped almost a minute as Vollering overtook her in the standings.
For Vollering, the win completed her set of Grand Tour stage victories and left her exactly a minute behind Van der Breggen with four days of racing remaining.
Thursday's stage six is the final flat run of this year's Giro, following the idyllic shores of Lake Garda before a twisting finale that could disrupt the likely bunch sprint ending.