Karol-Ann Canuel wears first pink jersey at Giro Rosa
Canadian chrono champ with neat parallel to Svein Tuft's 2014 maglia rosa
As expected Boels-Dolmans took Friday’s flowers in the 28th Giro Rosa’s opening team time trial, and new Canadian chrono champ Karol-Ann Canuel was first over the line, earning her the first pink leader’s jersey of the only Grand Tour of the UCI Women’s WorldTour. It’s not only a neat parallel to Svein Tuft’s maglia rosa in the 2014 Giro d’Italia when Orica-GreenEdge won the team time trial opener, but also Leah Kirchmann’s Canada Day pink jersey last season after she triumphed in the Giro Rosa prologue.
Canuel will wear the pink jersey on Canada Day.
“It was really special to pull on the pink jersey.” – @KarolAnnCanuel . #GiroRosa TTT report + reactions: https://t.co/VU8cNKepwN pic.twitter.com/qEzjKfVcqk
— Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team (@boelsdolmansct) June 30, 2017
She was getting a little worried Thursday when her bikes were still lost in transit.
Hey @AirCanada I'm racing the biggest race of the year. Can you help me to get my bikes in time? 2days and no update and no one to talk to
— Karol-Ann Canuel (@KarolAnnCanuel) June 29, 2017
Boels-Dolmans, a team with the last two champions on the start ramp with Canuel, ripped the 11.5-km course in 14:47, 16-seconds fast than Coryn Rivera’s Sunweb. The other Canadian entrant, Alison Jackson, saw her Bepink Cogeas team finish 1:33 in arrears. Jackson was third in last weekend’s national road race championship.
On Saturday, Danish world champion Amalie Dideriksen will wear the white jersey for best young rider and Elisa Longo-Borghini, whose Wiggle High5 finished 22-seconds back, will be clad in blue for the best Italian rider.
On Tuesday Canuel dominated the elite women’s time trial in Ottawa, beating 2014 champ Kirchmann by 1:17 to take the title.
The Giro Rosa continues Saturday with a road course containing a climb in the final third of 122-km but a flat last 12-km.
