Island cyclist Becky Storrie produced a series of impressive rides in the recent Giro d'Italia Women.

The 27-year-old from Ballasalla was one of the leading Team Picnic PostNL performers during the grand tour, one of the highlights of women’s cycling.

Storrie has had mixed fortunes at the event in the past. Indeed, in 2024 she suffered a broken collarbone and was forced to withdraw.

But after a good showing at last year’s Giro, the former Castle Rushen High School student shone at this year’s event.

After the opening two stages were suited to sprinters, the race opened up on stage three which featured a couple of climbs and led to a breakaway win.

Storrie and her team-mates successfully worked for Pfeiffer Georgi and delivered her safely to the finish where she finished sixth.

The following day saw an individual time trial and Storrie was the leading rider in her team, ending an impressive 28th, before excelling again on stage five in the mountains, spending the majority of the day in the breakaway.

The standout result arrived on the eighth and penultimate stage which featured a brutal climb, with the Manxwoman crossing the line in a superb 19th to mover up the general classification considerably.

Storrie rounded off a successful tour with a good 57th place in the tough final stage, ensuring she was the leading Picnic PostNL rider in four of the nine stages and top rider on GC.

Storrie said: ‘I’m really proud of how the Giro went. To be honest, after the winter and spring I had there was a bit of uncertainty coming into the race.

‘I’d had some disruptions and hadn’t quite had the build-up I would’ve liked, so to come away feeling strong and able to contribute to the team was a really nice feeling. It probably gave me more confidence than anything else.

‘Stage eight is definitely the one that stands out most. It was one of those days where I felt like I could really race rather than just survive, and that’s always a nice place to be. But honestly, some of my favourite moments were the less-obvious ones.

‘The Giro is such a huge race and sharing this with the team, working towards a common goal and seeing everyone’s hard work come together is something I’ll always remember.

‘Earlier in the year there were definitely moments where I questioned whether things were going to come together.

‘Professional sport rarely follows the perfect script and this year has been a good reminder of that.

‘The Giro felt like a bit of validation that the patience, persistence and support from the people around me were all worth it. It wasn’t necessarily about results on paper, but more about feeling like myself again on the bike.

‘The support from the Isle of Man is amazing and it’s something I’ll never take for granted. The island is small, which means people really do follow your journey and celebrate your successes with you.

‘Whether it’s messages after races, people stopping you when you’re home, or seeing familiar names supporting you online, it genuinely means a lot.

‘I feel very lucky to come from a place that gets behind its athletes the way the Isle of Man does.’

So what’s next? ‘First up is the Tour de Suisse [starting Wednesday], which I’m really looking forward to.

‘I’m excited to keep building on the form I’ve found and see what I can do. Beyond that, there are still a lot of opportunities later in the season and hopefully several races that suit me well.

‘More than anything, I just want to keep enjoying the process, keep learning and make the most of every opportunity I get at this level.’