Giro d’Italia 2026: Vingegaard Climbs Into Contention (Stages 4-9) – Cycling West

The second week of the 2026 Giro d’Italia arrived with chaos, attrition, and the first true mountain battles of the race. Jhonatan Narváez continued his remarkable comeback with two stage victories for UAE Team Emirates XRG, while Jonas Vingegaard finally unleashed his climbing legs on the slopes of Blockhaus and Corno alle Scale. Yet despite the Danish star’s dominance in the high mountains, Portuguese outsider Afonso Eulálio refused to surrender the Maglia Rosa, surviving day after day against the race favorites as the Giro tilted toward its decisive phase.

Stage 4 — Catanzaro–Cosenza, 138 km

The Giro’s first visit to Calabria delivered a nervous, explosive finale into Cosenza, where twisting roads, late climbs, and technical corners shattered the peloton before Jhonatan Narváez surged to victory.

The Ecuadorian rider stayed patient through a chaotic final kilometer, following teammate Jan Christen through the decisive moves before launching his sprint out of the final corner. Narváez accelerated past Orluis Aular and Giulio Ciccone to claim the stage after 138 kilometers in 3:08:46, an average speed of 43.863 kph.

Behind the stage battle, Ciccone collected enough time to move into the Maglia Rosa for Lidl-Trek, giving the Italian tifosi their first homegrown race leader of the Giro.

Narváez’s victory carried additional emotion after injuries derailed the start of his season.

“This victory is really big for me,” Narváez said after the finish. “After my crash in Australia in January, I have spent three months training in Ecuador. I want to thank my wife, my family and my team who supported me in this difficult period.”

The UAE rider also dedicated the win to teammates who crashed during the opening stages and praised Christen, whose aggressive finale nearly carried him into pink.

“Jan is a great guy, he was trying to take the Maglia Rosa today,” Narváez said. “He’s a young guy who needs to learn how to race. He did a great final and for me with him at the front it was just a question of waiting for the sprint. I took the corner really well. Then it was just about the legs in the last straight.”

Stage Results

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Jhonatan Narváez	UAE Team Emirates XRG	3:08:46
2	Orluis Aular	Movistar Team	s.t.
3	Giulio Ciccone	Lidl-Trek	s.t.

General Classification

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Giulio Ciccone	Lidl-Trek	—
2	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates XRG	+0:04
3	Florian Stork	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	+0:04

Jersey Leaders

Jersey	Classification	Rider	Team
Maglia Rosa	General Classification	Giulio Ciccone	Lidl-Trek
Maglia Ciclamino	Points Classification	Paul Magnier	Soudal Quick-Step
Maglia Azzurra	Mountains Classification	Diego Pablo Sevilla	Team Polti VisitMalta
Maglia Bianca	Best Young Rider	Jan Christen	UAE Team Emirates XRG

Stage 5 — Praia a Mare–Potenza, 203 km

The Giro’s longest stage to that point turned into a war of survival across the rugged roads into Potenza, where crashes, fatigue, and relentless climbing reshaped the general classification.

A late move by Igor Arrieta and Afonso Eulálio decided both the stage and the Maglia Rosa. The pair escaped clear in the closing kilometers and drove through the twisting uphill finale while the favorites hesitated behind.

Despite crashing earlier in the stage, Arrieta recovered to outsprint Eulálio for the victory, giving UAE Team Emirates XRG its second stage win in two days. Eulálio finished two seconds behind but emerged as the day’s biggest revelation, climbing into the Maglia Rosa after an aggressive, fearless ride that suddenly transformed him from breakaway opportunist into Giro leader.

Guillermo Thomas Silva finished third for XDS Astana Team, 51 seconds behind Arrieta, as the race splintered across the final climbs.

“I’m really happy to achieve this victory after my three teammates crashed at the beginning of the Giro and after I crashed as well today,” Arrieta said. “I didn’t think it was lost when I crashed, I wanted to try till the end. I was completely empty in the last kilometres but I knew Eulálio was also the same. We both deserved the victory but in the end, I took it.”

Arrieta thanked his girlfriend, family, and trainer after the finish, while Eulálio pulled on both the Maglia Rosa and Maglia Bianca.

Stage Results

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Igor Arrieta	UAE Team Emirates XRG	xhxx:xx
2	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious	+0:02
3	Guillermo Thomas Silva	XDS Astana Team	+0:51

General Classification

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious	—
2	Igor Arrieta	UAE Team Emirates XRG	+2:51
3	Christian Scaroni	XDS Astana Team	+3:34

Jersey Leaders

Jersey	Classification	Rider	Team
Maglia Rosa	General Classification	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious
Maglia Ciclamino	Points Classification	Paul Magnier	Soudal Quick-Step
Maglia Azzurra	Mountains Classification	Diego Pablo Sevilla	Team Polti VisitMalta
Maglia Bianca	Best Young Rider	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious

Stage 6 — Paestum–Naples, 141 km

Everybody hit the deck in Naples — or at least it felt that way — and Davide Ballerini suddenly found himself with a clear road to the biggest win of his Giro d’Italia career.

The XDS Astana Team rider survived a treacherous, rain-slicked finale through the streets of Naples and avoided the carnage in the final corner on the slippery cobblestones near Piazza del Plebiscito. Ballerini had entered the finale as part of the lead-out for Matteo Malucelli, but when the sprinters and lead-out riders began sliding across the road, the race opened in front of him.

Jasper Stuyven followed Ballerini through the chaos, but the Soudal Quick-Step rider could not come around him in the final 200 meters. Paul Magnier, already in the Maglia Ciclamino, had to put a foot down in the crash, remounted quickly, and still fought his way back to third place.

After the scenic start in Paestum, the stage took time to ignite. Around 10 kilometers into the day, Edward Planckaert and Luca Vergallito of Alpecin–Deceuninck sparked the breakaway. Martin Marcellusi and Manuele Tarozzi of VF Group Bardiani–CSF Faizanè and Mattia Bais of Team Polti VisitMalta soon joined them.

The escape never gained much freedom. The peloton kept the gap under one minute as the route passed through town after town, with thousands of fans lining the roads. The general classification riders stayed tucked safely near the rear of the bunch, trying to avoid trouble before the next day’s Blockhaus test.

The bunch reeled in the breakaway 36 kilometers from the finish. Filippo Magli claimed the Red Bull KM, while Lennert Van Eetvelt opportunistically picked up two bonus seconds.

That set up the expected sprint finish in central Naples, the fourth consecutive sprint stage and the Giro’s first-ever finish in Piazza del Plebiscito. Unibet Tietema Rockets appeared to have the finale under control until the last corner with 400 meters remaining. Elmar Reinders touched the brakes on the slick cobbles and crashed, taking Dylan Groenewegen, Jonathan Milan, and several others down with him.

Ballerini and Stuyven slipped through on the inside line. Both had started the finale in service of faster teammates, but the crash turned them into stage contenders in an instant. Ballerini held his line, drove through the final straight, and delivered Italy its first stage win of the 2026 Giro.

“I thought I could win a stage at the Giro, but certainly not this one and not in this way,” Ballerini said after the finish. “Today, our sprinter was Matteo Malucelli, but when we entered the final corner, I saw two riders go down. They told me to go for it. I was hoping the finish line would come quickly, but it was still quite far away and I was on the limit. Fortunately, I made it. I’ve finally won a stage of the Giro d’Italia!”

Behind the chaos, Eulálio enjoyed a day of minimum risk and maximum reward. The Bahrain Victorious rider avoided trouble, safely retained the Maglia Rosa, and turned his attention toward the looming Blockhaus summit finish.

Stage Results

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Davide Ballerini	XDS Astana Team	3:19:30
2	Jasper Stuyven	Soudal Quick-Step	s.t.
3	Paul Magnier	Soudal Quick-Step	s.t.

General Classification

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious	—
2	Igor Arrieta	UAE Team Emirates XRG	+2:51
3	Christian Scaroni	XDS Astana Team	+3:34

Jersey Leaders

Jersey	Classification	Rider	Team
Maglia Rosa	General Classification	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious
Maglia Ciclamino	Points Classification	Paul Magnier	Soudal Quick-Step
Maglia Azzurra	Mountains Classification	Diego Pablo Sevilla	Team Polti VisitMalta
Maglia Bianca	Best Young Rider	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious

Stage 7 — Sulmona–Blockhaus, 245 km

The Giro reached the mountains, and Jonas Vingegaard immediately imposed himself on the race.

After a long, wind-battered stage through the Abruzzo region, the first summit finish at Blockhaus exploded under the pressure of the favorites. With 5.5 kilometers remaining, Vingegaard attacked out of the select group and quickly reduced the race to survival.

Giulio Pellizzari initially tried to follow, but the young Italian could not hold the Dane’s pace. Felix Gall chose a steadier rhythm and limited his losses to 13 seconds, while Jai Hindley, the last Giro rider to win at Blockhaus in 2022, finished third at 1:02.

Vingegaard’s victory gave him his first Giro d’Italia stage win and completed his set of stage victories across all three Grand Tours. The win also evoked Eddy Merckx’s famous Blockhaus triumph in 1967, linking the Dane’s first Giro breakthrough to one of the race’s iconic mountain venues.

“I’ve been waiting for this stage since I saw the route,” Vingegaard said. “It made it a nice day to take the stage win. To have now at least one win in each of the Grand Tours is special.”

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader said he expected Pellizzari and others to try to follow when he attacked, but he timed his move carefully in shifting winds near the top of the climb.

“In the last climb, there was a lot of wind, sometimes a side wind, sometimes a head or a tail wind,” Vingegaard said. “I was trying to find the right moment to attack according to the wind. I’m just happy to win a stage and especially this one. The Blockhaus is an iconic finish in Italy.”

The stage also belonged, in part, to Eulálio. The Maglia Rosa cracked with six kilometers remaining, but instead of collapsing completely, he fought his way to the summit in damage-limitation mode with help from Damiano Caruso. He lost 2:55 but kept pink by 3:17 over Vingegaard.

“I’m happy because to keep the Maglia Rosa was one of the objectives for today,” Eulálio said. “I tried to avoid suffering as much as I could. In the finale, I exploded. Had I not had Damiano Caruso along, I probably would have lost one or two more minutes.”

Eulálio said the favorites were “flying” while he focused only on survival, but he accepted the time loss after a 245-kilometer stage with a punishing summit finish.

Vingegaard became the 115th rider to win stages in all three Grand Tours, and the 13th Dane to win a Giro stage. He also became only the third Danish rider to win an uphill finish at the Giro, after John Carlsen at Gran Sasso in 1989 and Chris Anker Sørensen at Terminillo in 2010. Gall recorded his fourth Grand Tour stage podium, while Hindley became the only rider in Giro history to finish in the top three twice at Blockhaus.

Stage Results

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Jonas Vingegaard	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	6:09:15
2	Felix Gall	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	+0:13
3	Jai Hindley	Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	+1:02

General Classification

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious	—
2	Jonas Vingegaard	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	+3:17
3	Felix Gall	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	+3:34
4	Jai Hindley	Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	+4:25
5	Giulio Pellizzari	Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe	+4:28

Jersey Leaders

Jersey	Classification	Rider	Team
Maglia Rosa	General Classification	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious
Maglia Ciclamino	Points Classification	Paul Magnier	Soudal Quick-Step
Maglia Azzurra	Mountains Classification	Jonas Vingegaard	Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Maglia Bianca	Best Young Rider	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious
Maglia Bianca	Worn by	Giulio Pellizzari	Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe

Stage 8 — Chieti–Fermo, 156 km

One day after the high mountains, the Giro returned to puncheur territory on the steep, rolling roads into Fermo. The constantly changing terrain shredded the peloton and created another opportunity for aggressive racing.

Once again, Narváez seized it.

The Ecuadorian rider attacked late and powered through the headwind alone after a day of relentless pressure from UAE Team Emirates XRG. Behind him, the Uno-X Mobility duo of Andreas Leknessund and Martin Tjøtta chased desperately but never closed the gap. Narváez finished the 156-kilometer stage in 3:27:26, averaging 45.122 kph, with Leknessund 32 seconds back and Tjøtta at 42 seconds.

“We knew it was a good stage for me,” Narváez said. “We played it well with my teammates. I think the man of the day is Mikkel Bjerg. He’s a guy who works a lot for the team all year long.”

Narváez said the headwind made the final effort extremely difficult, but UAE never stopped believing in the move.

“We never gave up, even with 60km to go,” he said. “We rode smart. It’s a big victory, after my crash in January, after we were down to five riders here at the Giro. We have a good atmosphere in the team. I think we will win stages again next week.”

The victory marked Narváez’s second of the Giro and UAE’s third overall despite crashes that had already reduced the squad to five riders.

Behind the stage fight, Eulálio safely retained the Maglia Rosa, still leading Vingegaard by 3:15, while Gall remained third overall.

Stage Results

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Jhonatan Narváez	UAE Team Emirates XRG	3:27:26
2	Andreas Leknessund	Uno-X Mobility	+0:32
3	Martin Tjøtta	Uno-X Mobility	+0:42

General Classification

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious	—
2	Jonas Vingegaard	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	+3:15
3	Felix Gall	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	+3:34

Jersey Leaders

Jersey	Classification	Rider	Team
Maglia Rosa	General Classification	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious
Maglia Ciclamino	Points Classification	Paul Magnier	Soudal Quick-Step
Maglia Azzurra	Mountains Classification	Jonas Vingegaard	Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Maglia Bianca	Best Young Rider	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious

Stage 9 — Modena–Corno alle Scale, 184 km

If Blockhaus announced Vingegaard’s arrival, Corno alle Scale confirmed that the Dane had become the Giro’s central force.

The stage unfolded cautiously at first, with Decathlon CMA CGM Team controlling much of the chase behind the breakaway in support of Felix Gall. Their pressure steadily reduced the gap, and by the final climb the stage victory suddenly came back into play.

Vingegaard initially planned to ride defensively after Visma spent heavily at Blockhaus and raced one man down, but Gall’s aggression changed the script.

“We wanted to be more defensive because we’re already one man down and we spent a lot of energy at the Blockhaus,” Vingegaard said. “But Decathlon was pulling all day, then a hard pace up the climb was better for me and once the breakaway was within reach, I was happy to go and take the victory.”

As the breakaway faltered inside the final kilometer, Vingegaard launched another devastating acceleration 900 meters from the finish. Gall fought to limit the damage but again could not match the Dane’s explosive finishing kick. Davide Piganzoli completed the podium for Visma after surviving the favorites group.

The victory marked Vingegaard’s 50th professional win and his second Giro stage victory in three days.

“Fifty pro wins is a milestone for sure,” Vingegaard said. “It’s quite a lot for me and something I’m super happy with. Also to take my second stage win at the Giro is special, so it’s a good day for us.”

But once again, Eulálio refused to disappear.

After nearly cracking at Blockhaus two days earlier, the Maglia Rosa delivered perhaps the ride of his career by finishing fifth among the favorites and limiting his losses enough to keep pink by 2:24 over Vingegaard before the 42-kilometer individual time trial after the second rest day.

“It’s perfect, my Giro is already a successful one!” Eulálio said. “I’m glad to still have the Maglia Rosa on the rest day and we’ll see what I can do in the time trial.”

Eulálio said he never imagined making the top five on a stage like Corno alle Scale in the group of favorites, but he felt stronger after recovering from Blockhaus, his crash, and his earlier breakaway effort.

“I don’t know my limits,” he said.

Vingegaard’s win gave Denmark its 21st Giro stage victory and made him the first Dane with two mountain-stage wins at the Giro. Team Visma | Lease a Bike reached 15 wins on the season, while only four teams had won stages through the first nine stages: UAE Team Emirates XRG with three, and Soudal Quick-Step, XDS Astana Team, and Visma | Lease a Bike with two each.

For the third time in a professional race, Vingegaard and Gall finished first and second, following a similar result at the Volta a Catalunya earlier in the year. Gall became the only Austrian with two top-two finishes at the Giro, while Vingegaard became the first rider to win at least two stages in his first Giro since Tadej Pogačar won six in 2024.

Stage Results

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Jonas Vingegaard	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	4:20:21
2	Felix Gall	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	+0:12
3	Davide Piganzoli	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	+0:34

General Classification

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious	—
2	Jonas Vingegaard	Team Visma | Lease a Bike	+2:24
3	Felix Gall	Decathlon CMA CGM Team	+2:59

Jersey Leaders

Jersey	Classification	Rider	Team
Maglia Rosa	General Classification	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious
Maglia Ciclamino	Points Classification	Paul Magnier	Soudal Quick-Step
Maglia Azzurra	Mountains Classification	Jonas Vingegaard	Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Maglia Bianca	Best Young Rider	Afonso Eulálio	Bahrain Victorious
Maglia Bianca	Worn by	Mathys Rondel	Tudor Pro Cycling Team

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