Neve Bradbury finished third in the general classification following the final stage of the Giro d’Italia today in L’Aquila. The 22-year-old won Best Young Rider, giving CANYON//SRAM Racing 1-2 in the Maglia Bianca classification, with Antonia Niedermaier in second. Niedermaier also finished sixth in the general classification.

After Neve’s sensational win on yesterday’s Blockhaus stage, the CANYON//SRAM Racing rider was awarded the Most Combative Rider overall. The team was on the podium every stage, with Antonia leading the Best Young Rider classification for six stages before Neve took over in the final two days. Soraya Paladin took second place on stage four, and the team had two riders in the top ten on four different stages.

In today’s final stage, Antonia and Neve took their opportunities with various attacks in the closing kilometres, but in the end, it was a day for the breakaway. Neve finished seventh on the stage giving her third in the general classification at +1:16 behind Elisa Longo Borghini (LTK). Antonia was sixth overall at +2:41.

RIDER REACTIONS

Neve Bradbury: “This is pretty cool. I wanted to do well at the Giro and set it my biggest target for the year. Getting third on GC is special. I couldn’t be more happy with it. We can all be proud of getting the Maglia Bianca and Antonia second, plus her sixth on GC, my stage win, and a second on a stage with Soraya.”

“We had strong teamwork and a lot of support from our staff. That showed throughout the Giro, especially in the last stages when we still had good legs. Unfortunately, we lost Alice and Elise in crashes mid-tour as they were racing strongly. Antonia being up there on GC gave us an advantage. As a team, we can only be happy with the results.”

Antonia Niedermaier: “The Giro was a really good team performance. I don’t think we could have done anything better. I am happy with this performance and looking already forward to next year’s edition. As a team, we are more than proud of ourselves. To have so many good results with just four riders in the end is stunning. I feel sorry for Alice and Elise and hope that they are well soon. Maike was just amazing with us. All of my teammates did a great job and supported us so well.”

“To finish the Giro with good results is very important for me and gives me confidence going into the Olympics. This whole week was just possible because of our hard working staff. Thanks to all of them for making sure we can do a great race. They are a really big part of this success!”

Soraya Paladin: “My goal was to have a win and to help the team as much as possible. I was close to winning, and for this, I’m disappointed because I still feel like I lost an opportunity. On the other hand, I’m happy that I’ve been part of this successful Giro.”

“Since the start of the race, they trusted my experience and that we were working well together. Even if they were young, I was sure Neve and Antonia were ready to show their value and that the best for them is yet to come. We will see them more and more on top of the results in the future. We also had a bit of bad luck, with Maike in the sprint and then with Alice and Elise crashes. Elise crashed from the breakaway she created and arrived at the finish line. I told her before the stage that she would win it, and without the crash, she was also close to doing it. I was really sad for her.”

“And last but not least it was an extra motivation for us to see how hard all the staff was working, if we get into the podium it’s a big part thanks to them. I hope we made them proud and happy.”

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