{"id":601578,"date":"2026-05-24T15:26:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T15:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/601578\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T15:26:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T15:26:24","slug":"how-it-happened-surprise-drama-on-pancake-flat-stage-15-of-giro-ditalia-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/601578\/","title":{"rendered":"How it happened: Surprise drama on pancake flat stage 15 of Giro d’Italia 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Refresh <\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:22:21.647Z<\/p>\n

After today, Magnier leads Narv\u00e1ez by just 14 points. Potentially huge for the points classification battle with some very hard days still to come and a 50 point day on a stage that suits riders like Narv\u00e1ez far more than the pure sprinters.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:14:36.537Z<\/p>\n

Magnier was the man to lead in the peloton behind as he retakes the lead in the points classification.<\/p>\n

\n

\"MILAN,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:08:54.677Z<\/p>\n

Heartbreak for Maestri and Marcellusi who gave their all, but the former Norwegian national champion takes a Grand Tour stage win on his debut.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:07:43.704Z<\/p>\n

Fredrik Dversnes of Uno-X Mobility wins stage 15 of the Giro d’Italia 2026 in the second fastest Giro stage of all time!<\/p>\n

\n

\"MILAN,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:06:55.572Z<\/p>\n

250 metres to go!<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:06:41.025Z<\/p>\n

Crash in the peloton!<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:06:32.787Z<\/p>\n

The peloton coming back extremely fast with 500 metres to go.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:06:08.719Z
\nFlamme Rouge<\/p>\n

21″ gap and they stall in the break! Bais comes to the front for Maestri.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:05:00.234Z<\/p>\n

Narv\u00e1ez moving up in the points jersey as Stuyven is the only man left for Magnier with 2km to go. 26″ gap as the break have their first look at each other!<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:04:16.515Z<\/p>\n

Milan’s last man, Consonni, comes to the front!<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:03:46.666Z<\/p>\n

Movistar and Picnic-PostNL finally start pushing hard with 3km to go. 24″ gap. Unibet Rose Rockets get their final leadout men to the front now with Groenewegen in third wheel followed by Pascal Ackermann (Jayco-AlUla).<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:02:50.036Z<\/p>\n

4km to go and the gap is 25″ as the peloton stall in the chase for now.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:02:32.149Z<\/p>\n

Tudor and Decathlon-CMA CGM finally come to the front along with Movistar, Groupama-FDJ United and Picnic-PostNL but there is a lot of looking around and are losing time again.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:01:44.878Z
\n5km to go<\/p>\n

Unibet Rose Rockets are giving everything for Groenewegen but the four leaders still have 26 seconds. It is starting to come down much faster now.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T15:00:32.585Z<\/p>\n

Picnic-PostNL and Decathlon-CMA CGM are not coming up with their trains, likewise Tudor. They’re gambling it all with 6km to go and 32″ gap!<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:59:12.081Z<\/p>\n

7km to go for the break and they have 41! on the peloton.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:58:36.377Z<\/p>\n

Decathlon-CMA CGM and Picnic-PostNL now coming up en masse, but it it too little too late? The big sprinters teams have hardly anyone left.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:57:02.228Z<\/p>\n

Lidl-Trek having to use their GC man Derek Gee-West on the front of the peloton to chase the break who are 40″ clear with 9km to go.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:56:19.608Z
\n10km to go<\/p>\n

Bais is working very hard for Maestri who is probably the fastest of the two. Bais saw his brother take a Giro win a few years ago, will it be his day today?<\/p>\n

\n

\"MILAN,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:52:40.425Z<\/p>\n

Fabio van den Bossche (Soudal-Quickstep) joins Kubi\u0161 and Walscheid on the front of the peloton but that time gap is not budging with 13km to go.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:51:09.948Z<\/p>\n

The gap adjusts! It is now 54″ for the breakaway. With Kubi\u0161 still leading the way with Walscheid.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:50:30.130Z<\/p>\n

As the peloton power across the finish line and take the bell the gap says 38″ for the four riders out front. This is going to be touch and go for the sprinters who are losing their teammates all the time.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:49:37.367Z<\/p>\n

This stage is on course to be the second fastest Giro d’Italia stage in history with the average speed above 51kph.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:48:41.221Z
\nOne lap to go<\/p>\n

The gap ticks under a minute for the breakaway with 16km of racing remaining. The GC times will be taken here so no changes in GC today.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:47:05.173Z<\/p>\n

Unibet Rose Rockets having to use Slovakian champion Luk\u00e1\u0161 Kubi\u0161 as well as Lidl-Trek having to use Max Walscheid. Gap now at 1’02”.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:44:48.898Z<\/p>\n

The gap drops to 1’06” with a big chunk getting taken off their time.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:44:10.073Z
\n20km to go<\/p>\n

Marcellusi could win for Bardiani CSF-7 Sabre for the first time in a decade with their last winner being a certain Ciccone on his Giro debut. Maestri, M. Bais and Dversnes are superb breakaway riders as well, though.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:41:36.459Z<\/p>\n

Mechanical<\/p>\n

Filippo Ganna (Netcompany-Ineos)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A rider who may have wanted to take a flyer today will have to work a bit harder now. He has won the last two times in Milan.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:39:16.600Z<\/p>\n

Multiple riders swinging off with the break still having 1’28” with 25km to go. Some riders are having to use their leadout men early.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:36:28.122Z<\/p>\n

Two and a half hours races with the average speed at 51kph! It has been absolutely rapid today.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:35:58.219Z<\/p>\n

Final lap neutralised <\/p>\n

The race confirm that the GC times will be taken the next time the riders cross the finish line with one lap to go.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:33:56.262Z
\n30km to go<\/p>\n

It looks like there may be a further neutralisation with the final lap being set up for the stage win and points only.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:29:18.726Z<\/p>\n

Two laps to go and the breakaway is still holding 1’40” on the peloton. They are riding superbly well out front.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:25:57.641Z<\/p>\n

Final 5km neutralised <\/p>\n

The race jury have decided to allow for the final 5km to be neutralised with all GC times kept unchanged. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) now at the car as well.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:23:45.500Z<\/p>\n

Reports say that Ben O’Connor has also been to the head car as well.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:22:07.530Z<\/p>\n

Puncture<\/p>\n

Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They’ve gone for a back wheel change and not a bike change. Odd choice as he’ll have to work harder to get back in.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:21:16.159Z<\/p>\n

Vingegaard is going back to the head commissaire care complaining about the barriers at the finish. They do appear to be kicking out on the finishing straight. He is talking about the potholes as well saying he almost crashed multiple time.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:19:47.692Z<\/p>\n

Dversnes wins the Red Bull sprint.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:18:56.363Z<\/p>\n

Vingegaard is right at the back in pink. He is with Campenaerts and looks like he may have an issue.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:17:08.135Z<\/p>\n

Some splits appearing in the peloton with the pace rocketing now.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:15:33.875Z<\/p>\n

It wasn’t a good day for Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla) yesterday after the rider from Perth was looking to kick on from his superb time trial…<\/p>\n

>>> Ben O’Connor limits losses in fight for top spot in Giro d’Italia after struggling on summit finish of Pila<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Giro\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)
\n<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:14:13.921Z<\/p>\n

The gap has corrected to 2’14” now with the break just 5km to go until the Red Bull sprint.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:12:30.534Z
\n50km to go<\/p>\n

EF Education-EasyPost join in at the front of the peloton for Estonian national champion Madis Mihkels as the time gap has grown to 2’34”.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:10:23.459Z<\/p>\n

Second time across the finish line with three laps to go in Milan.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:07:42.409Z<\/p>\n

Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) back at the head commissaire car seemingly discussing how safe the circuit is. He doesn’t seem to be very happy with the safety on the circuit in Milan.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:06:22.563Z<\/p>\n

Mechanical for Enric Mas (Movistar).<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T14:00:06.282Z<\/p>\n

Multiple GC teams are now starting to move up a bit more now we are on the circuit, but it looks pretty straightforward on relatively wide roads.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:58:07.638Z
\n60km to go<\/p>\n

The break still hold a gap of 2’00” on the peloton.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:55:28.096Z<\/p>\n

These laps give all the sprinters and their leadout men a chance to have a good look at the finale before the finish.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:52:59.099Z<\/p>\n

First passage of the finish line. Huge crowds out in Milan.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:43:22.676Z<\/p>\n

The gap to the break has dropped to 2’00” as the riders enter the circuit in Milan with huge crowds.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:33:39.177Z<\/p>\n

The riders are close to crossing the halfway point on the stage.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:28:42.754Z<\/p>\n

Roughly about two hours of racing left of racing today considering the pace they’re going at.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:22:45.447Z<\/p>\n

It is a very special moment for Vingegaard to wear pink. He is very likely to now wear it all the way to Rome from now…<\/p>\n

>>> ‘It would be a dream for me to take this jersey into Rome’ – Jonas Vingegaard lays claim to Giro d’Italia’s maglia rosa on punishing slopes of Pila<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"MILAN,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)
\n<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:12:49.634Z
\n100km to go<\/p>\n

Just over an hour down, average speed at just over 49kph and the breakaway holding 2’30” on the peloton.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:08:53.161Z<\/p>\n

Bike change<\/p>\n

Josh Kench (Groupama-FDJ United)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:08:24.897Z<\/p>\n

Points classification after intermediate sprint<\/p>\n

1. Narv\u00e1ez (UAD) 131pts
2. Magnier (SOQ) 131pts
3. Milan (LTK) 76pts
4. Stuyven (SOQ) 71pts
5. Silva (XAT) 70pts<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:07:08.407Z
\nIntermediate sprint (Pavia)<\/p>\n

1. Marcellusi (BCF) 12pts
2. M. Bais (PTM) 8pts
3. Dversnes (UXM) 5pts
4. Maestri (PTM) 3pts
5. Magnier (SOQ) 1pt<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:05:39.741Z<\/p>\n

Magnier takes that one point and levels up the scores in the points classification.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:04:51.410Z<\/p>\n

UAE Team Emirates-XRG are going for the one remaining point for Narv\u00e1ez but Magnier is on his wheel.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:04:18.481Z<\/p>\n

Marcellusi takes the intermediate sprint in Pavia.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T13:00:32.556Z<\/p>\n

The break of Dversnes, Maestri, Bais and Marcellusi have 3km to go until the intermediate sprint in Pavia. You may recognise the name Pavia as it has been hosting the start of Milan-San Remo for the last few years.<\/p>\n

\n

\"MILAN,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:56:40.347Z<\/p>\n

The average speed is over 50kph so far. They are riding along at a very good pace.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:56:15.276Z<\/p>\n

Ghebreigzabhier isn’t riding on the front all alone, though. Unibet Rose Rockets and Soudal-Quickstep also joining in the chase.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:47:50.013Z<\/p>\n

Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Lidl-Trek) is the man leading the way in the peloton.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:47:19.163Z<\/p>\n

Movistar boss, Eusebio Unzu\u00e9, is not best pleased with the form of Enric Mas at this race…<\/p>\n

>>> ‘Far off the level we hoped for’ – Movistar boss Eusebio Unzu\u00e9 pulls no punches over Enric Mas’ Giro d’Italia team leader struggles but hopeful for final week breaks<\/p>\n

\n

\"2026\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)
\n<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:44:33.773Z<\/p>\n

Vingegaard may be out of reach, but the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe duo of Hindley and Pellizzari are fighting to challenge for the poiums…<\/p>\n

>>> ‘The Giro is not over’ – Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari combine to fight back in Giro d’Italia GC podium battle<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"PILA\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)
\n<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:38:17.962Z
\n130km to go<\/p>\n

It is a very steady pace in the peloton now as the four riders out front look to increase the gap.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:27:36.952Z<\/p>\n

Jerseys:<\/p>\n

Pink – Vingegaard (TVL)
Purple – Narv\u00e1ez (UAD)
Blue – Vingegaard (TVL)*
White – Eul\u00e1lio (TBV)<\/p>\n

*Worn by – Van der Lee (EFE)<\/p>\n

\n

\"VOGHERA,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)
\n<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:24:07.512Z
\n140km<\/p>\n

The sprinters teams start to work with Soudal-Quickstep, Lidl-Trek and Unibet Rose Rockets all coming to the front after 20 minutes of racing to start setting the pace for their main men with 2’04” up to the four rider break.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:21:06.331Z<\/p>\n

Alpecin-Premier Tech no longer have their big name sprinter in Kaden Groves after he abandoned suffering from his injuries from the crash on stage 2. However, they do have a sprinter, Jenson Plowright. The Australian criterium champion will be very familiar with the style of racing at the finish in Milan today.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:19:18.184Z<\/p>\n

Alpecin-Premier Tech are being blocked in by the sprinters teams. They really want to get into the breakaway with Danish time trialist Johan Price-Pejtersen to make this breakaway have some slim chance, but they can’t get close to going on the attack.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:14:17.326Z<\/p>\n

More attacks in the peloton with Alpecin-Premier Tech trying. However, he has three Soudal-Quickstep riders and an NSN rider on his wheel as Enric Mas (Movistar) closes it down.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:10:36.623Z<\/p>\n

Bardiani CSF-7 Sabre and Alpecin-Premier Tech tried to counter in the peloton but they had the door firmly shut in front of them to stop them moving.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:09:59.088Z<\/p>\n

Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF-7 Sabre), Mattia Bais (Polti-Visit Malta), Alessandro Tonelli (Polti-Visit Malta) and Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility) are clear with 18″ on the peloton.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:08:47.220Z<\/p>\n

The same teams try to make another break but nothing is doing. The sprinters teams don’t want more than four riders who now get away.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:05:22.774Z<\/p>\n

Soudal-Quickstep, Lidl-Trek and NSN immediately go to work to bring that back. Too many riders in that one.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:04:52.981Z
\n157km to go<\/p>\n

Racing begins with attacks coming immediately from Bardiani CSF-7 Sabre, Uno-X Mobility, Alpecin-Premier Tech and Polti-Visit Malta.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T12:02:13.688Z<\/p>\n

Just 1km of neutral left.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T11:57:29.816Z<\/p>\n

The race is actually late starting at the moment. They are 3km away from the flag being waved.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T11:51:29.781Z<\/p>\n

The riders have rolled out and are on their way to the race start proper.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T11:48:46.456Z<\/p>\n

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) is fully decked out in pink today for his very first day in the leaders jersey…<\/p>\n

\n

\"VOGHERA,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T11:40:48.362Z<\/p>\n

The riders are due to start the neutralised zone any minute now.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T11:31:12.953Z<\/p>\n

Will today’s finish in Milan be perfect for Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) to take his first win of the race?<\/p>\n

>>> ‘It’s super important for me and our team’ – Pressure builds on winless Jonathan Milan as sprinters set eyes on next Giro d’Italia sprint in Milan<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"VOGHERA,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)
\n<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T11:27:17.738Z<\/p>\n

Here is the above view of what the stage looks like today with four laps of the finishing circuit in Milan.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Map\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: RCS Sport)<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T11:22:28.252Z<\/p>\n

Rider presentation is well underway in Voghera with this man, Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) will be desperate to go for the win today, he has already gone so close but only has two real chances left in this race…<\/p>\n

>>> “We have two shots left to achieve our Mission Giro’ – Unibet Rose Rockets target Milan and Rome sprints with Dylan Groenewegen<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Unibet\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)
\n<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T10:51:21.577Z<\/p>\n

It is going to be another hot day for the riders with the temperatures set to reach over 30\u00b0c. Staying cool will be vital today.<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T10:49:10.582Z<\/p>\n

Onto today and you couldn’t find a more different stage profile to yesterday’s stage than today’s. It is completely pancake flat with a few laps around the city of Milan after the halfway point.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Stage\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: RCS Sport)<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T10:45:31.519Z<\/p>\n

Before looking at the final stage of week two, let’s take a look back at what happened yesterday in the first really major mountain test of the race…<\/p>\n

>>> Giro d’Italia: Jonas Vingegaard outclimbs rivals to solo to stage 14 victory and seize race lead<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"PILA\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)
\n<\/p>\n

2026-05-24T10:44:07.997Z<\/p>\n

Bongiorno and welcome to live updates of the 15th stage at this year’s Giro d’Italia.<\/p>\n

Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) took over the points classification yesterday thanks to him taking maximum points at the intermediate sprint. He leads Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) by one point heading into today’s sprint stage, so the Frenchman will likely take it back today, but it is all to play for in the final week…<\/p>\n

>>> ‘I will fight for it’ – Maglia ciclamino competition heats up as Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez takes on Paul Magnier in a head-to-head battle for points at the Giro d’Italia<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"2026\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Refresh 2026-05-24T15:22:21.647Z After today, Magnier leads Narv\u00e1ez by just 14 points. Potentially huge for the points classification battle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-601578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}