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Brandli takes Giro Femminile on final day
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Swiss rider Nicole Brandli won the 2003 Giro d’Italia Femminile in dramatic fashion on Sunday, overtaking Edita Pucinskaite on the final day of the race to win by a scant 17 seconds. Trailing by five seconds heading into the 22.9km stage 9 time trial, Brandli put enough time on her Lithuanian rival to take the final pink jersey in Venice.
The Giro had become a two-woman race after the mountainous stage 3, won by Brandli, when Pucinskaite assumed the race lead with the Swiss just five seconds behind. Following that came a sprinting display by German Regina Schleicher, who posted four consecutive victories.
One last sprint finish on Saturday, won by Australian Rochelle Gilmore, set the stage for Sunday’s finale, 22.9km against the clock from Mira to Venice. In addition to Brandli taking over the pink jersey and Dutchwoman Loes Gunnewijk winning the stage, the time trial also saw two Americans in the top five: Kimberly Bruckner in second and Amber Neben in fifth. Bruckner’s performance moved her into the top 10 overall, in eighth, while Neben went from ninth to seventh on the final classification.
