 2025 Giro d'Italia Women | |
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Late June / early July |
| Region | Italy |
| Nickname(s) | Giro d'Italia Donne Giro Rosa (2013–2020) |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI Women's World Tour |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | RCS Sport |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1988 (1988) |
| Editions | 36 (as of 2025) |
| First winner |  Maria Canins (ITA) |
| Most wins | Fabiana Luperini (ITA)(5 wins) |
| Most recent | Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) |
TheGiro d’Italia Women is an annual women'scycle stage race around Italy. First held in 1988, the race is currently part of theUCI Women's World Tour, and is currently organised byRCS Sport, the organisers of the men'sGiro d'Italia. The race was previously branded as theGiro d'Italia Femminile prior to 2013, theGiro Rosa from 2013 to 2020,Giro d'Italia Donne in 2021, andGiro Donne from 2022 to 2023.
The race has been considered the most prestigious stage race inwomen's road cycling,[1] with some teams and media referring to the race as a'Grand Tour'.[2][3] However, the race does not meet the UCI definition of such an event.[4][5] It has generally held over eight to ten days in early July each year. The race is owned by theItalian Cycling Federation, with organisation of the race outsourced.[6]
The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the general classification and wears thepink jersey. While the general classification gathers the most attention, there are other contests held within the Giro: thepoints classification for the sprinters, themountains classification for the climbers andyoung rider classification for the riders under the age of 23. Achieving a stage win also provides prestige, often accomplished by a team'ssprint specialist or a rider taking part in a breakaway.
The men'sGiro d'Italia cycling race was first held in 1909, and is considered the second most important cycling race in the world.[7] The women's Giro d'Italia was first held in 1988 as the Giro d'Italia Femminile.[8] The first edition in 1988 was won by two-timeTour de France Feminin winnerMaria Canins from Italy.[9][8]
Global Cycling Network notes how "how little we actually know" about early editions of the women's Giro, with no information about stage winners.[8] The race was the second biggest women's race in Italy, behind the long runningTrofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio.[8] In the 1990s, the race was dominated by Italian riderFabiana Luperini, who won 4 editions of the race between 1995 and 1998, winning 13 stages in the process.[8] Luperini later won the2008 edition of the race, 10 years after her last victory.[10][11]
In the 2000s, the race grew to 13 stages in length before falling back to 9 stages.[8][12] Other big races likeGrande Boucle Féminine Internationale andTour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin were cancelled due to financial difficulties in 2009 and 2010 respectively, leaving the Giro Donne was the only 'Grand Tour' left in women's cycling after 2010.[8]
In December 2012 it was reported that the company Epinike had withdrawn as Giro Donne organiser, making the 2013 edition uncertain.[6] In April 2013, however, organisers announced they had rebranded the race as theGiro Rosa, taking place over eight days.[13] It returned to its traditional ten-day length the following year. In 2016, the race became part of the newUCI Women's World Tour, organised by theUnion Cycliste Internationale (UCI).[14]
In the 2010s and early 2020s, the race was dominated by Dutch riders, withMarianne Vos winning the race three times, andAnnemiek van Vleuten andAnna van der Breggen both winning the race four times.[15] In 2021, the race lost its World Tour status due to the lack of live television coverage during the 2020 edition of the race.[16] The decision to downgrade the race to theUCI ProSeries was met with criticism.[16] The race used theGiro d'Italia Donne name in 2021, before returning toGiro Donne in 2022. The race returned to World Tour level in 2022, following promises of live television coverage onEurosport andRai Sport.[17] The prize money was also increased to €250,000, with €50,000 for the winner of the general classification.[17] The organisation of the 2023 edition of the race was criticised, with information about the route and riders not available until the last minute.[18]
From 2024, the race will be organised by the men'sGiro d'Italia organiserRCS Sport on a four-year contract.[19] The 2024 edition of the race was rebranded toGiro d'Italia Women.[20] From 2024 onwards, the first rider to pass the highest climb of the race was awarded the "Cima Alfonsina Strada" – a prize named after Italian cyclistAlfonsina Strada, who took part in the men's Giro d’Italia in 1924.[21] In 2024,Elisa Longo Borghini became the first Italian rider to win the race for 16 years.[22]
From 2026, the race will move to June rather than its traditional July date – starting on the same weekend as the finish of the men's race.[23] The race previously had to compete for attention with the more famous men'sTour de France, and organisers stated that they wished to work with the UCI to move the calendar position of the race, so that the race is not overshadowed.[24] The UCI will also award more ranking points to Giro d'Italia Women, Tour de France Femmes and the Vuelta Femenina compared to other races in the UCI Women's World Tour – elevating the three races in status.[25][26]
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| Wins | Rider | Editions |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Fabiana Luperini (ITA) | 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2008 |
| 4 |  Anna van der Breggen (NED) | 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021 |
| Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 | |
| 3 |  Nicole Brändli (SUI) | 2001, 2003, 2005 |
| Marianne Vos (NED) | 2011, 2012, 2014 | |
| 2 |  Joane Somarriba (ESP) | 1999, 2000 |
 Edita Pučinskaitė (LIT) | 2006, 2007 | |
 Mara Abbott (USA) | 2010, 2013 | |
| Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) | 2024, 2025 |
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 11 | Netherlands |
| 10 | Italy |
| 3 | Switzerland, United States |
| 2 | Lithuania, Spain |
| 1 |  Germany, France, Russia, Slovakia, United Kingdom |
TheGiro Donne awards a number of jerseys for winners of certain classifications – the current competitions that award a jersey are:
(
from 1988 to 2023,
in 2012)Points classification, for the rider with the most points as awarded by finishing positions on stages and the first riders to go through intermediate sprints. Recently, the winner wears themaglia rossa (red jersey).
(
from 1988 to 2023)Mountains classification, for the rider awarded the most points for crossing designated climbs, generally at the peaks of hills and mountains. The winner wears themaglia azzurra (blue jersey).
Young rider classification, for the fastest rider under the age of 25 to complete the race. The winner wears themaglia bianca (white jersey).Between 2010 and 2023, themaglia azzurra (blue jersey) was awarded to the fastest Italian rider to complete the race. In 2006, the young riders classification was not run, instead a sprints competition was won byOlga Slyusareva (RUS) and awarded the blue jersey.
| Rank | Country | Points | Mountains | Youth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 14 | 5 | 1 | 20 |
| 2 | Italy | 3 | 9 | 6 | 18 |
| 3 | Germany | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | |
| 5 | Russia | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| United States | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | France | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
 Australia | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| 10 | Switzerland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 Belgium | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
 New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 12 |  Belarus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Denmark | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Poland | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 15 |  Brazil | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 San Marino | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Slovakia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Sweden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rank | Rider | Stage wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marianne Vos (NED) | 32 |
| 2 | Petra Rossner (GER) | 18 |
| 3 | Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) | 16 |
After the Tour de France femmes avec Zwift announced its record $250,000 purse, another women's grand tour event, the Giro d'Italia Donne, matched the Tour's prize money amount.
Elite women world circuit The duration of events ... is limited to 6 days unless an exemption is made by the UCI Management Committee
'Cima Alfonsina Strada', the highest peak of the race, established in memory of the cyclist who took part in the men's Giro d'Italia in 1924.
Organisers confirm they are working with the UCI to ensure the race does not clash with the men's Tour de France
2.10.017 Points scale Women Elite
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
(Italian and English)| By year | |||||||
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| Classifications ("jerseys") |
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| Lists | |||||||
