May 23, 2026
After a few easier and less stressful days on the bike, the GC guys will be forced to perform today in an unrelenting test of climbing. If the organizers were merciful, the race could have been about 25 km which is the shortest distance between the start in Aosta and the finish Gressan but that would not be fitting of a stage in the Giro. Instead, the riders will have to climb the 15.7 km Saint Barthélemy right out of the gate. It isn't the steepest climb at 6%, but there is almost no lead-in so almost everyone will be warming up on the trainers beforehand. A 16 km descent and 12 km flat valley road will bring the riders back into Aosta to start the climb up to Roisan for the intermediate sprint with the subsequent ascent to Douse to follow. The Lin Noir and Verrogne are next up for the riders to tackle. These two climbs are connected by a 3 km false flat downhill and really can be thought of as one long 18 km climb. The top of Verrogne comes 41 km from the finish so it is likely to be used to softening up the legs rather than an attacking launch point. A long descent brings the bunch back towards Aosta but they make a turn South in Gressan to start the final climb up to the finish in Pila. The last 16.6 km are all uphill at a very even 7% the entire way up. A total of 4,200 meters of elevation will be in the legs by the top in just 133 km of racing which could prove too much for Afonso Eulálio to hold on to the Maglia Rose.
Race Summary
The mountains were not the only factor on the day. Summer heat reached the Aosta valley and temperatures were pushing 30C (86F) which made the South facing exposed slopes feel even warmer. Visma-Lease a Bike had nearly the entire team on the front when the flag dropped and they immediately set a tempo to the base of Saint Barthélemy. The last of the snow hung tight on the highest peaks in the background as attacking riders finally wet up the road through the vineyards and mountain chalets. Mattia Bais of Polti-VisitMalta was the first one to go and he was quickly followed by Martin Marcellusi of Bardiani CSF 7 Saber and Chris Hamilton of Picnic-PostNL Raisin. Not everyone was happy with just three riders in the break and more attacks came. Chunks of riders went off the front but Visma-Lease a Bike just continued their pace.
When the last of the attacks came, around 30 riders were off the front but there was no one of particular worry in the GC. Naturally, the best climbers came to the fore and with 3 km still to climb, Jan Christen of UAE-XRG was out in front with Jardi Van Der Lee of EF-Education EasyPost. The two leaders had 30 seconds on a solid chase group of 20 riders with the peloton at nearly 2 minutes. Van Der Lee snagged the points at the top after Christen led the entire way up but the Swiss didn't seem too bothered and the pair started the descent back into the valley to the town of Nus.
Christen and Van Der Lee were caught by the larger chase group on the descent and they reached the valley with 1 minute 45 seconds. Of the other riders in the break, the best climbers on paper were Igor Arrieta of UAE-XRG, Jan Hirt of NSN Cycling, David de la Cruz of Pinarello Q36.5, Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek, Enric Mas and Einer Rubio of Movistar, Alex Cepeda of EF-Education EasyPost, Wout Poels of Unibet Rose Rockets, and Aleksandr Vlasov of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe. They were able to extend the gap to 2 minutes 35 seconds with 84 km to go as they started the drag up towards the intermediate sprint in Roisan.
At the start of the day, Jhonatan Narváez of UAE-XRG was only a handful of points behind Paul Magnier for the Maglia Ciclamino. The Ecuadorian found himself in the break and deftly took the points in Roisan. The extra points moved him into the lead in that competition and he will wear the jersey outright going into tomorrow's stage. At the start of the Doues, the gap was out to 3 minutes 15 seconds. Andreas Leknessund of Uno-X Mobility stretched the break up to Doues and trimmed the group down to thirteen riders by the top. Before they reached the KOM, Van Der Lee chipped off the front but Arrieta followed and it was the Spaniard who exacted revenge for taking the points from his teammate on Saint Barthélemy.
With 58 km to go, the remnants of the break arrived at the base of the Lin Noir with a 3 minute 40 second advantage to the peloton. Seventeen riders started the climb in the front and most were able stay connected by the top. Visma-Lease a Bike had increased their pace and cut the gap by 20 seconds as Ciccone out sprinted Van Der Lee at the top with 50 km remaining. The start of the Verrogne came quicker than many would have hoped for. They went up through the forest and into the Alpine meadows, all while the time gap fell as new Visma-Lease a Bike riders increased the pace. When the gap went below 3 minutes, Ciccone went on the attack with Rubio dragging Mas and Vlasov across to the Italian. The group reformed with Jan Hirt, Igor Arrieta, Wout Poels, Juan Pedro López of Movistar, Koen Bouwman of Jayco AlUla, de la Cruz and Donovan of Pinarello Q36.5, Gianmarco Garofoli of Soudal Quickstep, and Johannes Kulset of Uno-X Mobility. The thirteen riders crested Verrogne, led by Ciccone, with 41 km remaining and 2 minutes 30 seconds on the peloton.
Ciccone tried to build the gap on the descent but Visma-Lease a Bike had the race in a strangle hold. Through the vineyards of Aymavilles and Jovençan, everyone was frantically getting their last feeds from the car before the final climb to Pila. The gap was down to 2 minutes 15 seconds by the start as the Visma-Lease a Bike train was clicking into gear. With 10 km to go, the gap was 1 minute 10 seconds and Victor Campenaerts, Sepp Kuss, and Davide Piganzoli were still sitting in front of Jonas Vingegaard. All of the main GC riders were still in the group with the exception of Markel Beloki of EF-Education EasyPost who dropped early on the climb. Kuss took over a moment later and the trap door opened at the back. Ben O'Connor of Jayco AlUla, Derek Gee of Lidl-Trek, and race leader Afonso Eulálio were all distanced.
With 8 km to go, Ciccone, Mas, Rubio, Poels, and Hirt were doing a strong ride but the gap dipped below 1 minute for first time since the start of the day. When Kuss handed over the job to Piganzoli with 6.7 km to go, the only other riders left in the group were Vingegaard, Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman of Netcompany-Ineos, Felix Gall of Decathlon CMA CGM, Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe, Michael Storer of Tudor Pro Cycling, and Chris Harper of Pinarello Q36.5. Piganzoli continued to drive on the front through 5 km to go when Pellizzari drifted off the back and the last of the original break were swept up. Moments later, Vingegaard came around Piganzoli and the Dane was clear off the front of the race.
Under the 3 km banner, Vingegaard had 25 seconds to Gall with Piganzoli just behind. Pellizzari had made a recovery and was pacing Hindley at 40 seconds with Arensman at 45 seconds. The gaps edged out as Vingegaard passed through the sea of fans at 1,500 meters and entered the barriers under the final kilometer. He stayed seated into the finish straight and crossed the line for his third win of the race with a tremendous view of the Alps in the background. He swapped the blue of the Mountains classification for Pink in what seemed inevitable given how Visma-Lease a Bike rode from the start of the day. Gall proved to be the next best climber in the race again, finishing 49 seconds down. Hindley limited his losses, coming in 58 seconds behind with Piganzoli and Pellizzari crossing moments later.
Afonso Eulálio finished the day 2 minutes 49 seconds down which was good enough for him to hold on to second place in GC. Gall passed Arensman and sits third at 2 minutes 50 seconds with the Dutchman at 3 minutes 3 seconds in fourth overall.