Racing
Veronica Ewers second on stage 4 at Giro d'Italia Donne
American earns career-best result in a WorldTour race
July 3, 2023
As she was trading pulls with two of cycling’s elite at the sharp edge of the Giro with a stage win on the line, Veronica Ewers looked right at home.
The American, who had escaped earlier, was in the company of Annemiek van Vleuten and Elisa Longo Borghini as the stage wound down. The group held the gap at around a minute coming off the final descent, and it became clear the trio would contest the stage win. The trio saw a confluence of motivations: Longo Borghini for the sprint and stage; Van Vleuten for the GC (and the stage of course) and Ewers, seeking her first ever WorldTour win, and a bump up in the GC. After trading pulls, the sprint opened up with Longo Borghini in the lead. As the final meters ticked on, it seemed as if the underdog Ewers would sneak around, but she ran out of road.
“I’m tired. I'm very happy with the result. I was a bit frustrated to come in second immediately and then sort of some tears of happiness sort of came over me shortly after,” Ewers said. “It’s my best result in a WorldTour race so far. And I mean, amazing to come in second to Elisa on her home territory.”
Ewers initially moved clear of the thinned bunch via an attack on the Passo Montevacà, with just over 30 kilometers to go. She was alone off the front into the day’s final climb and a solo victory was certainly within reach until Van Vleuten launched her own attack, bringing Longo Borghi along for the ride. When the pair made contact with Ewers, they rode by and it looked as if Ewers might fade away.
“I told myself I need to stay with the two of them,” she said. “It ended up going well for me. I just heard Annemiek attack right on the last climb and I thought, ‘oh no,’ and at one point I turned around and saw the two of them behind me and I took a breath and just told myself I needed to stay with them as much as possible. There was a point I thought I would get dropped, but fortunately, it wasn't too steep of a moment so I could just actually benefit from some draft. So I sat on the wheel and enjoyed the draft.”
Linda Jackson, the team’s founder and owner, saw on the sport’s great stage what she’s always known about Ewers.
“It was an incredible stage by Veronica and the team today. We all know the talent Veronica has and what she is capable of,” she said. “What was most impressive about today was Veronica switching her mentality from staying with the established leaders to taking a chance and attacking the leaders. She demonstrated today that she can take those chances and have success. This will give her a lot of self confidence and I couldn't be prouder.”
Vai Veronica, and vai EF Education-TIBCO-SVB!