Elisa Balsamo is over the moon: “A dream come true.”

The Cuneo native was ahead of Marianne Vos at the finish line.

Elisa Balsamo did not betray expectations. Called to the proscenium in the second stage of the Women’s Giro 2022, in the stage that took the athletes from Villasimius to Tortolì, the reigning world champion won the sprint against Dutchwoman Marianne Vos at the photo finish, also winning, thanks to stage bonuses, the race’s pink jersey.

Overjoyed at the finish line, the Piedmontese rider made the following statements, “Winning is not easy: I have to say that my teammates have really helped me, not only at the athletic level but also at the mental level, because every now and then I stand next to them and they tell me that I can do it, this is important,” the Italian began. “We have a sports psychologist who is helping us every day, because it is not easy to start with so much pressure. We wanted a win, we wanted a pink jersey, now we have it and we have ahead a stress-free Giro. Wearing any jersey is always a big responsibility, I always try to honor them the best I can.”

On the possibility of keeping the jersey as long as possible, Balsamo did not hide his intentions, “Honestly the dream was to wear it, I know very well that I could never compete for the general classification, but we will try to keep it as long as possible, without particular stress. We wanted to conquer it, we conquered it, now we will see in the coming days,” he concluded.