Wheel Talk Newsletter: Sorry, we're at the Giro!

The Wheel Talk newsletter will be trimmed down this week. With the Giro on, all my attention is on the race, and I hope yours is too!

Contenders preview: The most hotly contested Giro the pink jersey has seen in yearsReigning champion Longo Borghini faces Vollering, Van der Breggen, Reusser, Bunel, Holmgren ... the list goes on.Escape CollectiveAbby Mickey

First things first: ICYMI

The Giro d'Italia so far:

Stage 1 of the Giro seemed pretty standard. There wasn't a whole lot to talk about post-stage, other than the dangerous circuit and the continued sprint dominance of Lorena Wiebes... until there was a whole lot to talk about.

Updated: Lorena Wiebes sprints to victory in first stage of Giro d’Italia Women – later disqualifiedWiebes bested Elisa Balsamo to win stage 1 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia.Escape CollectiveAbby MickeyWiebes disqualified from Giro d’Italia for underweight bike after winning stage 1The UCI disqualified the Dutch champion from the race for bike weight violations.Escape CollectiveAbby Mickey

She may have been awarded the pink jersey because of the disqualification, but throughout stages 2 and 3, Elisa Balsamo proved she was worthy of the honour.

Balsamo wins Giro d’Italia stage 2 in pinkThe Italian Lidl-Trek rider sprinted to victory ahead of Lara Gillespie and Chiara Consonni.Escape CollectiveAbby MickeyBalsamo thwarts GC attacks to win Giro d’Italia stage 3Balsamo extended her lead overall, but she will lose it on Tuesday in the uphill time trial.Escape CollectiveAbby Mickey

The race finally turned attention to the overall classification for the fourth stage, thanks to an uphill time trial.

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