Elisa BALSAMO. 10. Her Lidl Trek teammates work well throughout the stage, controlling the race and putting Elisa in the best position to express herself. She initially controls Gillespie and Consonni, even risking getting "bottled up" in the traffic of a sprint that looked uncertain on paper. Then Gillespie makes her move, and in the blink of an eye the Piedmontese rider responds. She overtakes her and celebrates with arms raised, wearing the pink jersey. Fourth stage victory at the Giro d'Italia Women and leadership confirmed in the overall classification.

Lara GILLESPIE. 9. She wanted to improve on yesterday's placement, wanted to win to conclude the great team effort of UAE Team ADQ in the best way possible. The Irish rider in the red jersey takes the initiative and launches the sprint but finishes in second place. After the finish line she is disappointed and drained by the intense heat, but nonetheless the author of a great stage.

Chiara CONSONNI. 8. She's there in the final, present. Then on the straightaway something slows her down. Perhaps she also struggles to understand why, as she tells Eurosport colleagues right after the finish line: "Usually I throw myself in without thinking, when I start thinking too much things don't go well. Next time I'll just go full gas"

Elisa LONGO BORGHINI. 8. She's at the Giro Women to defend her title but for her the most important days will come later. In the meantime she goes up front, like yesterday, to help Gillespie and teammates: she sets the pace, stays away from danger, and stretches the group. Great work from a great champion.

Charlotte KOOL. 6,5. She moves up positions, exits the last curve at full speed. We find her in launching position and think she can fight for the victory. The Dutch rider from Fenix starts long and perhaps her legs play a nasty trick on her.

Barbara GUARISCHI. 7. Lorena isn't here so Barbara steps up. The Lombard, who yesterday had piloted her captain to victory on the road, today takes on the biggest responsibility and gives SD Worx Protime a placement that somewhat mitigates the disappointment from last night over Wiebes' exclusion.

Alessia ZAMBELLI. 6,5. Alessia has no fear of authority. Like yesterday her orange jersey branded Alè stands out in the sprinters' group. She pedals shoulder to shoulder with the top sprinters in the group, "stealing" the trade. Meanwhile she also takes her second top-10 placement at this Giro d'Italia Women and makes Top Girl Fassa Bortolo happy, thanks to Lucio Rigato. 

DE VALLIER, LUCCON, LA BELLA. 8,5. The flag drops and they rise on the pedals and escape. The pair directed by Lucio Rigato and Matteo Busato knows the Treviso roads well and races: they want to show the orange jersey but above all their own value. La Bella is no less, passes first over the top of the Muro di Ca' del Poggio and tomorrow will wear the best climber's jersey. Beautiful action, congratulations.  

Fariba HASHIMI. 8 The 23-year-old Afghan rider from Vini Fantini Bepink misses the moment to immediately catch up with the first attackers but doesn't lose heart. She courageously exits the group, pedals for many kilometers alongside Serena and Nelson and shows the world that with sacrifice and dedication on a bike you can achieve great goals and great dreams. Fariba has already reached hers, she's at the Giro d'Italia and with her she brings an entire people, as she wrote in a post before leaving for the "pink race".