Elisa Balsamo wins second stage of Giro d’Italia Donne says "It’s a dream coming true"

The second stage of Giro d’Italia Donne was held on Friday, World Champion Elisa Balsamo won the stage and secured the top spot in GC.

It is her first Giro d’Italia Donne and it became more special now that she gets to wear the maglia rosa. “It was a really hard sprint, my teammates made a great lead-out. They were all there from the first km to the last one, I know that Marianne is such a superstar rider. For me, she is like an example in the peloton, and sprinting against her is always a pleasure," Balsamo said after her first win of the race. "We did a great stage and we were here in Sardinia for this pink jersey and I am very happy. It’s a dream coming true. I’m very happy today, For tomorrow I really want to enjoy the pink jersey and of course, it is a dream," she added.

Balsamo was able to secure third in Thursday’s time trial stage just six seconds behind the winner Kristen Faulkner. "We really believe in this pink jersey today, we will try to keep this jersey but we really wanted it today and then we will see," the Italian concluded.