May 9, 2026
Transfers are always a topic of conversation at the Giro but the riders should be able to roll out of bed and ride to the start because KM0 is just a few kilometers up the same road from yesterday's finish. The complexion of today's 221 km race from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo is completely different to the opening stage. The first 100 km are indeed very flat as the bunch head due West through Kamobat and Kaloyanovo before reaching the intermediate sprint in Sliven. Things change out of Sliven is the riders enter the Sinite Kamani (Blue Rocks) Nature Park to start the 7.7 km, 4.5% Byala Pass. There is a short descent into the town of Byala before the Vratnik Pass, a 9 km grade at 4% up through the forest. The top of Vratnik comes 87 km from the finish with the next 70 km on rolling roads. The bunch should still be all together at this point but the Lyaskovets Monastary Pass offers one last chance to shed the sprinters before the finish. The climb to Lyaskovets Monastary is 3.9 km at 6.6% and is a prime launchpad for attacks. The riders will crest the summit just 10.5 km before the finish with only a descent and an 800 meter ramp to the line at 5% with a maximum gradient of 9% and partly on cobbles. It will surely be a reduced group into Veliko Tarnovo but it's hard to know how many will survive Lyaskovets and still be in contention.
Race Summary
As a result of yesterday's crash, the only non-starter was Matteo Moschetti of Pinarello Q36.5 who suffered a concussion and could not continue in the race. Crowds turned out once again as they rolled out from Burgas. Roads were dry but there was a threat of rain later in the stage which could change team tactics later in the day. Riders were rubbing the bumper of the car in the neutral but when the flag dropped, it was only Mirco Maestri and the Maglio Azzurro, Diego Pablo Sevilla, of Polti-VisitMalta who attacked. To much surprise, there was no reaction and the Polti duo went up the road on their own.
NSN Cycling started to control with Ryan Mullen when the gap reached 5 minutes 45 seconds but there was no stress and the bunch continued to roll along. The countryside was incredibly green and generally deforested with much of the land being cultivated including large swaths of land for wine production. The riders continued towards Sliven as the mountains rose higher over their right shoulder and the clouds grew darker overhead. Mullen rode on the front the entire time with no help and was able to moderate the gap at a remarkably stable 5 minutes.
Sevilla rolled through the sprint in Sliven to take maximum points. Behind, Mullen pulled off as Lidl-Trek picked up the pace with Soudal Quickstep challenging the lead out. Soudal Quickstep set up and took the inside corner which put him in perfect position to take the sprint. Jonathan Milan stayed seated and finished behind Mangier but never really challenged the Frenchman.
The Byala Pass was more of a big ring climb and the leaders skipped right over it with Sevilla taking the points at the top. Notably, rain drops formed on the lower slopes and jackets came out for many in the peloton. With wet roads, teams of GC leaders pushed forward to take the descent in good position which brought the gap down to 3 minutes 30 seconds. Visma-Lease a Bike took the lead on the descent which was more or less dry into the town of Byala.
NSN Cycling took on the pace again up the Vratnik Pass. They kept it quite easy which allowed the gap to nudge up to 3 minutes 40 seconds with 3 km still to climb. The road turned wet again with reports of rain on the other side of the mountain as well. Sevilla put another set of mountains points in his pocket at the top but he and Maestri started the descent with a reduced gap of 2 minutes 30 seconds as the GC teams pushed hard to fight for position.
The descent was sinuous but drier than expected and ultimately taken quite safely. Visma-Lease a Bike stopped riding at the end of the descent and handed the responsibility back to NSN Cycling and Ryan Mullin. The weather really moved in on the rolling roads heading towards the final climb of Lyaskovets Monastary. The spray in the peloton created a cloud of mist that followed the bunch through the little villages and back out again.
The gap slowly ground down from 2 minutes to 1 minute 20 seconds with 35 km to go as the legs of the two leaders were starting to fatigue and the tension was building in the peloton. Netcompany-Ineos, Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE-XRG, and Bahrain Victorious came forward and it felt like the accord was soon to be called off to start the finale. The bunch started the drag race which eliminated the gap very quickly. The catch was made with 27 km to go as the action was kicking off.
On a long sweeping right turn with 23 km to go, the front wheel of a rider went out on the wet road and the bunch tumbled like skittles. At least 30 riders hit the deck and plenty more were held up. Among the fallers were Adam Yates, Marc Soler, and Jay Vine of UAE-XRG, Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain Victorious, Corbin Strong of NSN Cycling, Rémi Cavagna of Groupama-FDJ United, and Derek Gee of Lidl-Trek. The rest of the peloton that was unaffected continued to roll for about 3 km before the organizers shut everything down and stopped the race.
The race was only neutralized for about 5 minutes before the re-start was given at 18 km to go which was surprising given that many of the riders who had fallen and still in the race had not gotten back to the peloton. None of that mattered because the Redbull Sprint was just up the road with bonus seconds on the line. Netcompany-Ineos led out and it was taken by Egan Bernal with no real competition because everyone was saving their legs for the battle into the tight left corner onto the bottom of the Lyaskovets Monastary.
Everyone made it around the corner safely and it was XDS-Astana who took up the pace from the bottom at warp speed. Christian Scaroni was not waiting around and went on the attack 2.5 km from the top. The move was covered and Visma-Lease a Bike regained control of the pace. Davide Piganzoli set a speed that was impossible to attack from and with 700 meters to climb, Jonas Vingegaard made his first effort of the race. The group was down to 40 riders when Vingegaard attacked but the Dane lit the after burners and left everyone scrambling to get to his wheel. At the top, Giulio Pellizzari of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe and Lennert Van Eetvelt of Lotto Intermarché were closest with around 10 riders just behind trying to stay in contact.
Vingegaard towed Pellizzari and Van Eetvelt clear of the rest as they started the steep, damp descent. When they reached a wider road near the bottom, the three leaders had about 15 seconds on a chase group of around 20 riders with a handful more just behind. There was indecision in the chase but none in the lead group who were fully committed to building their advantage. The gap had grown to 20 seconds with 2,300 meters to go when they reached the first bit of cobbles. Vingegaard was most eager to push on inside the last 1,500 meters but Pellizzari and Van Eetvelt didn't feel the same compulsion. At 1,200 meters, the chase came into sight and they had closed to within just a handful of seconds. Jan Christen of UAE-XRG jumped across and there was a moment of hesitation. Van Eetvelt tried to spring away but was covered by Christen, then the others, and the group slowed. Contact was made with 450 meters to go and all of a sudden, a group of around 35 riders were in with the possibility of a stage win and the Maglia Rose. XDS-Astana came from behind with a strong surge led by Scaroni with Guillermo Thomas Silva in his wheel at 300 meters. Silva went full in the last 100 meters and had a slight lead but Florian Stork of Tudor Pro Cycling and Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek were coming and the three made a blanket finish. It was hard to see in real time who reached the line first but Silva knew it was him and immediately raised his arms. Stork nipped Ciccone for second with the Italian crossing in third.
The GC was completely reshuffled with Silva now in a dream scenario, leading by 4 seconds to Stork and Bernal. The casualties on the day were heavy. Jay Vine, Marc Soler, Santiago Buitrago, and Ådne Holter all were non-finishers. Many had significant road rash and some of the pre-race GC favorites lost time. Adam Yates is out of contention at over 13 minutes and other such as Alessandro Pinarello and Derek Gee are now 1 minute behind.