Giro Donne 2023 Stage 7 LIVE - Will Annemiek van Vleuten settle for anything less than a second summit victory in a row?

1. Annemiek van Vleuten 18'06'11
2. Juliette Labous +3'56"
3. Gaia Realini +4'25"
4. Veronica Ewers +5'35"
5. Erica Magnaldi +5'37"

TOP FIVE ON THE STAGE

1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) 3'07'52"
2. Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich) +0'13"
3. Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek) +0'20"
4. Liane Lippert (Movistar) +0'49"
5. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig +0'55"

Outside the top ten, which has been getting across in dribs and drabs. That was an especially hard final climb for the American, who slips off the podium.

She rounds the final bends, looks over her shoulder, and gives it one last push to the line. She extends her lead in the overall competion.

Labous just distances Realini to all but guarantee 2nd, while the young rider is now on the overall podium as well, unless Veronica Ewers has done something astonishing in the closing metres that we haven't seen.

When she goes, she goes. Twelvee seconds over Labous and Realini over just a few hundred metres. Time for them to fight it out for the podium now.

THE AVV attack, we knew it was coming. No freebies in this race, and Annemiek has used the pair all she needs to. On her way to another great victory. 102 for her career.

And this lead trio have stamped their authority on the race at the back end of this stage. Their 30 second advantage is only likely to increase over the final three thousand metres.

They have thirty seconds on the chase group. It's been very up and down but the dsm-firmenich and Lidl-Trek riders have surely been the most consistent of the non-AVV riders this week. Van Vleuten, of course, is going to attack and almost certainly take the stage, you'd think.

At the moment both are moving up in the general classification, the former could be on the overall podium at the end of the day.

Opening up a gap to Realini and Labous immediately, while halving Garcia's advantage in a stroke. Labous it looked like who was wrestling with her bike to keep Van Vleuten from getting out of sight, and she was able to get back on terms. For now. Garcia is the one who's hanging onto this front group, now, while Veronica Ewers is the rider who's losing time. She had thirty seconds over Labous and Realini at the start of the day.

No real attacks, but Garcia has moved off the front in a measured manner. She's 4'18 on the maglia rosa, but much closer to the podium so they can't let her go far. Van Vleuten seems to agree that it's on them to respond to it. The favourites group is barely more than a dozen riders strong now.

And it's Lizzie Deignan who tags her. The British rider isn't working for her own ambitions, but is road captaining Gaia Realini.

This climb is down as 6km at 6.5%, with quite a range of gradients that will suit various types of climber.

Realini, Juliette Labous and Niamh Fisher-Black are riding carefully at the front, vigilant to the threat of attacks from each other but, inevitably you'd think, Annemiek van Vleuten herself.

Looking to set up Veronica Ewers ahead of this penultimate climb (although it's really one climb in two classified pieces.) Koster has just 15 seconds, although she won't quite be in sight because of the twisty, turny section.

All the same, the Uno-X rider has gained a couple of seconds over the last few kilometres of that descent. Movistar are riding in full formation, looking ominous at the front of the bunch. AVV doesn't just want to win her final Giro Donne, she wants to do so by an enormous distance. (I'll find out by Saturday what the record winning margin is in this race, and if she's anywhere close to it.) She's already going to be the oldest champion by exactly a year (because she's only beaten her own record from 2022.)

Anouska Koster is riding smoothly down this narrow road, which is much better surfaced than most of the tarmac they've tackled this week, but the peloton is gaining on.

I'm betting on another attack in the valley, ahead of the launchpad to the final climbs.

The Frenchwoman had ten seconds or so on the bunch but the Canyon-Sram rider is being more carefully marked by Movistar, and only takes women with her. Liane Lippert has this one in hand on behalf of Annemiek van Vleuten.

Hang on... Anouska Koster is roaring away. The gap is already at 1'03" to the maglia rosa group and is still increasing. She's a handy time trialist, so this could get interesting.

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Anouska Koster (Uno-X) makes a break for freedom on the flat after the summit. No one is particularly keen to go clear with her - and she isn't hanging around to find out anyway...

Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) attacks near the top of Il Vigneto, unopposed, to take the maximum eight points at the summit. She moves into third in the KOM competition behind Van Vleuten and Niamh-Fisher Black (SD Worx).