Veronica Ewers of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB showed impressive climbing form on stage 4 of the Giro de Donne.

The 28-year-old American rider, who only started cycling a few years ago, attacked from a reduced peloton on Passo Montevaca, the second Category 3 climb, with 33km remaining and quickly built a gap. It was a move that gave him a chance to win the Borgo Val di Taro.

Evers entered the stage 55 seconds behind race leader Annemiek van Fruten (Movistar) and finished in the same time as a group that included final stage winner Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek).

Longo Borghini, from Moscow, Idaho, broke away at the top of the second climb and went on to the third and final climb. On the third and final grade 3 hill, Van Fruten attacked with Longo Borghini in tow.

Behind, SD Walks supported pre-stage favorite Lorena Wiebes, FDJ-SUEZ supported Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig, and Team DSM-Filmenig supported Juliette Lubbers, and the peloton was chasing hard, but the three worked together to held them off.

Ewers used intelligent tactics to sit at the back of the pack for the finish, waiting for Van Vleuten to be pushed to the front and for Longo Borghini to set up his sprint. As Longo Borghini sprinted, Van Vleuten sprinted to second place.

Ewers took a break from racing after competing in the Itzuria Women's in May and admitted after the second stage that he was unsure how he would fare in this Giro Donne.

"The legs are coming back! After a big break from road racing, I was back in the pack and nervous about how I would fare in the top group. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm working to get there. I will learn a lot and improve. On to the next!" . Yours truly said in a post to Instagram.

Ewers' budding cycling career, which began in the sport in 2018 after playing football for many years, included an impressive third-place finish at the US Pro Road National Championships in his first appearance in 2021 and second place overall at the Joe Martin Stage Race, He quickly gained momentum. He was then picked up by Education-TIBCO-SVB at the end of the season.

In 2022, the then 27-year-old lived up to the promise she had shown the previous year, winning the UCI 1.1 Navarra Women's Elite Classics and finishing 9th overall in the first Tour de France Femme.

Eworth did not have a consistent start to the 2023 season, but regained momentum at the Giro d'Italia Donné and Tour de France Femme, and began to show leadership within the team.

Thanks to an aggressive ride on stage 4, Eworth has moved up to third on GC heading into Tuesday's Queen stage and is now 53 seconds behind Van Vleuten and 4 seconds behind Longo Borghini.