Her late push on the 122.25 kilometre Zoppola to Montereale Valcellina stage led to her finished in front of the two other women with whom she had broken clear on the only categorised climb of the day, Boels-Dolmans rider and fellow countrywoman Anna van der Breggen and Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini of Wiggle-High 5 team.

"Today was a really good test for my legs, so I am really happy to take the victory," the stage winner said after the race.

"I didn't really know how my form was uphill as I haven't had the chance to test my legs uphill for almost four or five weeks.

“I know I have had really good preparation coming into this Giro Rosa and I felt really strong on the climb, on the descent and also in the final 20km where we had to ride really hard."

Van der Breggen was still able to take the pink leader’s jersey from her team-mate Karol-Ann Canuel, who led her team across the line in the opening time trial.

The first mountain test of the Giro Rosa rapidly thinned the field and Van Vleuten lifted the pace to create the crucial break, with Van der Breggen and Longo Borghini being the only two quick enough and strong enough to respond.

The trio began the technical descent to a flat 10km run-in to the finish with a handful of seconds over their chasers.

Van Vleuten, confident that she could out-sprint Van der Breggen and Longo Borghini, opened the sprint and held on to take the win.

"I was only thinking about taking time and not the stage victory," Van Vleuten said.

"I am thinking more about the overall than stages, and today is a really good sign my preparation went really well."

The 10-stage race continues tomorrow with the third stage of 100km between San Fior and San Vendemiano.