It was the queen stage of the Giro d’Italia Women, with a mountain-top finish on Monte Nerone (12 km at 7.2%).
Giro d’Italia Women 2025 Stage 7 profile
Sarah Gigante had previously won on Pianezze–Valdobbiadene but lost nearly two minutes on stage 5, missing the first group that included Marlen Reusser, Elisa Longo Borghini, and other favourites. On stage 7 Longo Borghini attacked shortly before the final climb with her teammate Silvia Persico and Liane Lippert, with the Italian champion trying to gain more time to win the GC against Marlen Reusser.
On Monte Nerone Sarah Gigante proved to be the strongest rider from the GC group, making her move with more than 6 km to go when Longo Borghini had a one-minute advantage. Gigante quickly caught the Italian champion and won the stage in impressive fashion, beating Longo Borghini by 45 seconds and everyone else by at least one minute.
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Gigante climbed Monte Nerone at 5.27 ᵉW/kg for 36:25, delivering the best climbing performance of her career so far. While she had already demonstrated high peak W/kg on Willunga Hill multiple times, she now replicated that power on a longer European climb.
Thanks to her strong ride (5.14 ᵉW/kg for 37:42), Longo Borghini moved into the GC lead, overtaking Marlen Reusser, who finished fourth on the climb.