Not even the Blockhaus was enough to clear things up, to establish a hierarchy, to decide the Giro d’Italia Women 2024. Between Maglia Rosa Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl Trek) and her great rival Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) there is only a one-second margin in the general classification. A mere trifle, all it takes is a small and seemingly harmless bonus to send one of them into the abyss and the other into heaven.

Longo Borghini hoped to close the dispute today on the arduous Blockhaus climb, but instead Kopecky responded blow by blow, did not lose a meter, and in the end even beat her in the sprint for second place, recovering two seconds in the GC thanks to the time bonuses. “These damned time bonuses again,” must have thought Longo Borghini, who in seven stages never conceded anything to her opponent, but adding up all the time bonuses won by Kopecky, she lost a whopping 24 seconds. In the opening time trial in Brescia, she had gained 25 … that explains that damn second, or “stupid second” as Lotte called it.

And tomorrow, in the Pescara-L’Aquila, the closing stage of this first, electrifying edition of the RCS Sport-branded Giro d’Italia Women 2024, anything can happen. The only certain thing is that Kopecky is faster than Longo Borghini and that Elisa will have to do everything to ensure that Lotte does not take any more bonus seconds at the finish line. It will take legs, but also a lot of head, to figure out how to outsmart her opponent.

We haven’t of course forgotten about Neve Bradbury (Canyon/SRAM), the queen of the Blockhaus, who attacked with more than 6 km to go and sprinted solo to a massive triumph. And the Australian, trimming 44″ off the two aforementioned GC contenders, moved to within 1’12” of the Maglia Rosa. And, with the inevitable mutual scrutiny between Longo Borghini and Kopecky, you never know that this 22-year-old Melbourne-born won’t try to play a trick on both of them. We’re in for a treat tomorrow.