Photos: Getty Images

With route delays and TV issues, the lead up to the 2023 Giro d’Italia Donne had been anything but plain sailing. Neither was the canceled stage 1 time trial in Chianciano. A total washout, sideways rain, hail, lightning and a flood meant that day one did in fact resemble more of a regatta than a bike race. “I have panda eyes!” Polish sprinter Daria Pikulik excitedly remarked on her smudged makeup as she surfed back to the team camper. 

With world champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) taking a commanding victory the following stage and stamping her authority on the race, it was clear that on this rolling parcours, opportunities for success would be hardfought. 

Pikulik had such a chance on stage 3, sprinting to seventh place in a field containing the world’s fastest on two wheels. It was the only traditional sprint finish of the Giro this year.   

Attention then quickly turned back to the team's GC rider, Barbara Malcotti. A mixed week for the Italian, Malcotti struck consistency on the hillier stages, gradually climbing the classification to end the Giro breaking into the top 20 in 19th place. 

And so a dizzying nine days of racing in Italy came to an end on the island of Sardinia where temperatures soared to 110°F before a traditional post race recovery of pizza and gelato. 

Getty Images and our roving photographer were on the ground to take you inside nine days of racing in Bel Paese.