Lily Williams sprinted to ninth place on the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia Women, scoring her first WorldTour top-ten finish of 2026 in the 139 km flat opening stage from Cesenatico to Ravenna.
Strong togetherness from the team of Barbara Malcotti, Thalita de Jong, Nina Buijsman, Carlotta Cipressi, Marit Raaijmakers and Maggie Coles-Lyster protected the GC ambitions in a frantic finale. The effort meant the squad ended the stage second in the team classification.
“I think the team can take a lot of good things away from today,” the Olympic gold medalist said afterwards. “I’m at a point now where I wish it were better. Like, ten is nice, but the top five would be better than that. But, I think we still have multiple days to get it right and hopefully put Maggie in a top position.”
The plan was to go for a two-pronged attack with Williams and Coles-Lyster, but a tight four-lap finishing circuit caused havoc, with Williams eventually deputizing and scoring ninth in a stacked field of sprinters. After review, stage winner Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime) was disqualified, with Elisa Balsamo (Lidl – Trek) claiming the first Maglia Rosa of the race.
“Maggie and I were just kind of sticking together,” explained the 31-year-old. “We were aiming to do a little one, two action. I worked to keep us in position, but unfortunately, we got separated at the very end, so I did my best to sprint.”
The result marks Williams’ eighth Women’s WorldTour top-ten and continues the form that saw her finish fifth at last weekend’s Antwerp Port Epic Ladies.
“Everyone rode really well today,” Williams said. “We kind of had the dual objectives of keeping our GC leaders safe and also competing in the sprint. We really all stayed in a strong position the whole day, and everyone did their part.”
Stage 2 is another drag race. After the QOM points are contested at the 1 km at 12.1% Muro Da’ Del Poggio, the day will probably follow a similar script to the opening stage.
Giro d’Italia Women stage 1 results
1 BALSAMO Elisa – Lidl – Trek 3:18:22
2 GILLESPIE Lara – UAE Team ADQ ”
3 CONSONNI Chiara – CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto ”
4 BAKER Georgia – Liv AlUla Jayco ”
5 KOOL Charlotte – Fenix-Premier Tech ”
6 ZANETTI Linda – Uno-X Mobility ”
7 VERHULST-WILD Gladys – AG Insurance – Soudal Team ”
8 GERY Célia – FDJ United – SUEZ ”
9 WILLIAMS Lily – Human Powered Health
10 ZAMBELLI Alessia – Top Girls Fassa Bortolo ”
Stage Gallery
Photos: GettySport and HPHCycling
