Mitchelton Scott announced Monday that defending champions Annemiek Van Vleuten and Amanda Spratt will lead the team in the Giro d'Italia International Women's Championships, which will be held in south-central Italy from September 11-19. Van Vleuten is the two-time defending champion and expressed confidence in the women's race, which will be held over nine days.

"I came back to Italy to relax a little bit mentally. I was already at a good level, so I didn't need to go back to altitude and train super hard. I came here with confidence and I plan to do the same in the Giro. I'm relaxed, excited, but also nervous. So I'll be fully focused for the next nine days, I learned my lesson with the team in 2017 and I think everyone else learned this lesson as well." It's also really good to have an experienced team around me that is used to running for GC."

Van Breutenen won the Giro Rosa in 2018 and 2019 and finished third overall in 2017. Since winning the world title last September, he has won six races in the rainbow jersey: the Omloop het Nieuwsblad in February, three one-day races in Spain in July, and the Strade Bianche and European Championships in August. He enters the race as the leading contender for a third consecutive season championship.

Organizers of the Giro Rosa were forced to change the event from July to September due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. They announced that the Giro Rosa will be held in south-central Italy. The route will begin with a team time trial, followed by the "Strade Bianche" stage in Tuscany on stage 2, and four summit finishes (Assisi on stage 3, Tivoli on stage 4, San Marco La Cutra on stage 8, and the finale, stage 9 Motta Montecorvino).

Mitchelton Scott confirmed that in addition to Van Vleuten and Spratt, Grace Brown, Lucy Kennedy, Sarah Roy, and Moniek Tenigro are registered for the team. [We have Amanda Spratt and Lucy Kennedy, who have quality on the hills, and power on the flat with Moniek, Roy, and Grace Brown, who can do both. [The course is not as hard as last year and there are not as many long summit finishes. After the team time trial on the first day, I think we're in for some hard days ahead.

"I'm really excited for the Giro. This was a period of time where I wanted to be in great shape, and I feel good about my level right now. I've been preparing for the first time in a place above Martigny and it's been a great place to prepare physically and mentally, with new roads every day and lots of great climbs," Spratt said in a team press release. 'Our goal for this year's Giro is to win as a team. Anne-Mike has won the last two times and I have been on the podium both times. It was very special to share the podium with Anne-Mike and a great win for the whole team. I think we can go into this year's Giro with the same confidence and we have a really strong team lineup.

She said this year's parkour will be much more tactical than the past two competitions, which included a series of alpine summit finishes. This year's route will include a series of climbs, but nothing as iconic as the Stelvio or Mortirolo used in the previous competitions. There will be no individual time trial in this year's Giro and only one long summit finish. The time gaps will be smaller and it will be all about strong teams, good numbers, and a good game plan. I love the tactical aspect and playing the game, so I can't wait to get racing."