\n30KM TO GO<\/p>\n
The lead quartet’s advantage is remaining about the same, at 1:50.<\/p>\n
2026-05-26T14:02:07.383Z<\/p>\n
Ulissi never managed to get back on to the break after being dropped near the summit. So Ciccone, Rubio, Harper and Narv\u00e1ez are the only riders left in the front group.<\/p>\n
2026-05-26T13:58:51.140Z<\/p>\n
\n
![\"CARI,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/aS8vTDcn9Zs93FrTmEhyX.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
2026-05-26T13:57:39.255Z<\/p>\n
And the new KOM rankings, with just one climb to come:<\/p>\n
1 Vingegaard 161<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n 2 Ciccone 129<\/p>\n 3 Van der Lee 83<\/p>\n 4 Rubio 77<\/p>\n 5 Gall 72<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:56:18.194Z<\/p>\n The new Maglia Ciclamino standings. There are now just two points in it at the top.<\/p>\n 1 Magnier 145<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2 Narv\u00e1ez 143<\/p>\n 3 Milan 78<\/p>\n 4 Stuyven 71<\/p>\n 5 Silva 70<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:54:28.689Z<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:52:59.659Z And Narv\u00e1ez does indeed take them, with nobody else in the group having a purpose to challenge for them.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:52:19.058Z<\/p>\n The intermediate sprint that Narv\u00e1ez has had his eye on all day is coming up imminently. He’s managed to stay in the front group, so looks set to get them.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:51:21.915Z The break has at least managed to increase its lead by a little on the descent. It’s just shy of two minutes.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:50:32.049Z<\/p>\n Though Vingegaard said before the stage that he [didn\u2019t] want to go for every stage\u2019, he did also mention his intention \u2018to try to win a stage in the pink jersey\u2019. Based on how his Visma team is riding today, he intends to make today that day.<\/p>\n ‘The Giro is not over’ – Jonas Vingegaard cautious but in control as he looks to secure Giro d’Italia maglia rosa in Rome<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:45:21.649Z<\/p>\n Giulio Ciccone, who’s clearly frustrated with how this stage is panning out.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:41:56.125Z Rubio puts in a big sprint this time, but again is deafeated by Ciccone.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:41:14.881Z<\/p>\n Rubio accelerates towards the top, and Ulissi has been dropped.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:40:33.739Z<\/p>\n You wonder if he\u2019s displacing that anger from towards Jonas Vingegaard. As things stand the Dane is what stands between him and a shot at winning the stage, and the King of the Mountains classification.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:39:11.548Z<\/p>\n Ciccone doesn’t look happy. He takes a bottle from a soigneur, but throws it away in disgust – it’s unclear why.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:38:34.432Z<\/p>\n Christen’s move is over too, he’s been caught.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:37:11.869Z<\/p>\n The riders dropped from the original break, like Van der Lee and Zana, have been caught by the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:35:37.350Z<\/p>\n Jan Christen has used the climb to attack out of the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:33:56.472Z The break’s lead is down to just 1:15.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:33:16.669Z<\/p>\n The break swing right onto the narrow – and steep – road that marks the beginning of the Leontica climb.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:30:42.843Z<\/p>\n The gap to the peloton is coming down again, as Visma up the pace in the peloton. It’s down to 1:23; this must be very frustrating for the break.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:29:55.432Z<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:27:21.090Z The updated KOM rankings:<\/p>\n 1 Vingegaard 161<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2 Ciccone 111<\/p>\n 3 Van der Lee 83<\/p>\n 4 Gall 72<\/p>\n 5 Rubio 69<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:25:48.496Z<\/p>\n The rider are now taking on the same descent, leading up to a second ascent of the Leontica.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:23:20.405Z They’ve reached the top, and once again Ciccone takes the points, followed by Rubio. He didn’t have to accelerate quite so explosively this time.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:21:33.148Z<\/p>\n This is a very decorated group that\u2019s leading the race. Between these five riders, they have a grand total of 18 Giro stage wins on their palmares.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:20:15.877Z The leading quintet are 1:40 ahead of the peloton, which is the biggest lead anyone has had all day. They’ll need to keep increasing if they’re to have a chance at the stage win though.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:18:54.099Z<\/p>\n Van der Lee is trying to bridge up to Ciccone, Rubio, Harper, Narv\u00e1ez and Ulissi, but struggling a lot, and is 20 seconds behind.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:18:00.021Z<\/p>\n The break on the previous climb.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:15:12.498Z<\/p>\n Ulissi is chasing the leading trio.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:14:59.426Z<\/p>\n At the last climb, Rubio, Van der Lee, Harper Narv\u00e1ez and Zana took the points behind Ciccone. Here’s what the virtual KOM rankings look like now as a result:<\/p>\n 1 Vingegaard 161<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2 Ciccone 102<\/p>\n 3 Van der Lee 83<\/p>\n 4 Gall 72<\/p>\n 5 Rubio 65<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:14:15.627Z<\/p>\n Once again, there’s no space between the bottom of the descent and the start of the third climb. This one lasts 4.7km at 5.6%, and they’ve begun it already.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:13:18.330Z<\/p>\n Ciccone’s been joined by Harper and Narv\u00e1ez.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:11:20.824Z<\/p>\n Ciccone is building his lead – he’s now 22 seconds up on the rest of the break.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:09:40.611Z<\/p>\n Who will challenge Jonas Vingegaard at this year’s Giro d’Italia? Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our coverage of the Corsa Rosa. Enjoy unrivalled reporting from our team of journalists on the ground, including breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage as it happens, plus access to the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:08:26.114Z<\/p>\n There’s a Bahrain rider in the formation of yellow Visma jerseys riding at the front of the peloton. Has he forgotten that their leader Afonso Eul\u00e1lio is no longer in the pink jersey?<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:07:05.657Z<\/p>\n Ciccone hasn’t sat up over the summit, and still leads the rest of the break on the descent.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:06:43.314Z<\/p>\n Visma lead the peloton over the top, just over a minute behind. They don’t seem to be riding quite so hard now.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:05:41.626Z Ciccone attacks for them, and Ciccone takes them. Rubio followed his wheel for second<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:04:24.025Z<\/p>\n They’re nearing the summit, both Ciccone and Van der Lee will want the KOM points.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:04:03.284Z This lead group of 6 have 55 seconds on the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:03:31.575Z<\/p>\n Those five riders are Ciccone, Rubio, Zana, Van der Lee and Narv\u00e1ez.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:01:54.663Z<\/p>\n Harper is riding at the front of the race ,and barely anyone is able to follow this pace – he only has five riders left with him.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T13:00:20.519Z<\/p>\n Up ahead the break is breaking up, with riders being dropped.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:59:49.256Z<\/p>\n Tim Rex is at the front for Visma, and he’s pulling some more pain faces again – a sign that they are chasing, not just riding tempo.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:58:07.975Z<\/p>\n They’ve finished descending and are now abruptly going uphill again, for the 3km, 8.2% Leontica.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:57:04.592Z<\/p>\n The 13-man lead group in full:<\/p>\n Ciccone, Harper, Van der Lee, Narv\u00e1ez, Christen, Ulissi, Rubio, L\u00f3pez, Kench, Hatherley, Van den Broeck, Zana and Tonelli<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:54:47.401Z<\/p>\n Visma lead the peloton and are keeping the break pegged at about 30 seconds for now.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:53:04.926Z<\/p>\n Of concern to Soudal-QuickStep and Magnier will be Narv\u00e1ez. He\u2019s only 14 points behind in the Maglia Ciclamino, and there\u2019s an intermediate sprint coming up later today before the final climb with his name written on it.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:51:42.353Z<\/p>\n Of concern to some will be Harper\u2019s presence in the breakaway. He\u2019s only 7:58 down on GC in 13th, and will be a threat to some riders\u2019 top ten placeings.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:49:52.639Z<\/p>\n Christen was one of the riders to join this group along with his teammate Narv\u00e1ez, as well as Kench, Ulissi, L\u00f3pez and Zana.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:48:35.391Z This group is looking promising – they’ve managed to grow their lead to 20 seconds on the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:47:35.389Z<\/p>\n The lead 8 have been joined by a few other riders – including Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:47:09.868Z Ciccone sprints for the points, and Ciccone takes them.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:46:38.659Z<\/p>\n The summit is nearing – who will go for the KOM points?<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:46:18.519Z<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:44:40.612Z<\/p>\n There are 8 riders in this lead group – Ciccone, Van der Lee, Rubio, Harper, Hatherley, plus a Bardiani, Polti and Picnic rider.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:42:56.600Z<\/p>\n Ciccone and Van der Lee are among them.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:42:42.750Z<\/p>\n About 7 riders have gone clear at the front.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:41:55.389Z<\/p>\n Meanwhile at the back, the Grupetto is forming. Milan and Magnier have dropped out of the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:41:04.593Z<\/p>\n The peloton has caught the back of the group, but it’s so big that there are still riders at the front of it a few second ahead.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:40:10.628Z<\/p>\n Visma aren’t happy with this group, and have a rider at the front of the peloton pacing.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:39:13.355Z<\/p>\n But the peloton is mere seconds ahead of them, and other riders are firing out of it to try and join the leaders.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:38:26.687Z<\/p>\n The chase group has caught the break, as they start the climb.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:37:55.981Z<\/p>\n The road gets harder still, the gradient rising to 5.6% for the next 4.7km as they start the first official climb of the day.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:36:43.093Z<\/p>\n More riders and groups are jumping out of the peloton to try and join the chase group. It’s all getting pretty chaotic!<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:35:59.918Z<\/p>\n All this is seeing the break’s lead plummit, to just 12 seconds.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:35:29.552Z<\/p>\n He’s caught, the peloton slows, and another UAE rider counters, this time Christen.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:34:49.589Z<\/p>\n Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez is one of those UAE riders, and he’s made a move.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:34:11.024Z<\/p>\n There are a few Bardiani and Polti riders in this group too, plus Van der Lee in the blue jersey.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:33:31.310Z<\/p>\n Along with Arrieta, multiple other UAE riders are in this group, and some Lidl-Treks and Visma-Lease a Bikes.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:32:53.400Z<\/p>\n The road is going stedily uphill, which will make it easier for sttronger climbers to bridge the gap to the break.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:32:12.764Z<\/p>\n That Lidl pace has forced a split, about 20 riders going clear from the rest of the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:31:29.247Z<\/p>\n Arrieta is the UAE rider, and behind Lidl are chasing again.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:31:05.103Z<\/p>\n The pace slows down in the peloton for a few moments, but now a UAE rider has attacked.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:30:36.115Z The break is holding the chasing peloton, and have increased their lead a little to 25 seconds.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:27:15.223Z<\/p>\n Both Lidl and UAE actually have men in the break, in Teutenberg and Morgado respectively, but can’t be hopeful of their chances winning the stage on the summit finish, as they continue to chase.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:24:35.996Z<\/p>\n In the break, Beloki stands out as the best climber, as well as being easily the highest ranked rider on GC, in 18th at 11:33.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:23:31.564Z<\/p>\n At the moment the peloton is winning the pursuit they’ve brought the gap down to 20 seconds.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:21:33.328Z<\/p>\n This is a proper pursuit between the breakaway, who are desperate to stay out, and the peloton, which is being pulled along by both UAE and Lidl.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:19:22.097Z<\/p>\n The breakaway up the road.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:18:09.820Z Lidl are contributing with UAE now, but it’s still looking like a big ask to bring them back – they’re 38 seconds behind.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:16:24.296Z<\/p>\n It\u2019s still not over – UAE are next to lead the peloton with Bjerg.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:15:36.430Z<\/p>\n Lidl might have given up the ghost! They\u2019ve sat up and no other team is taking it on in the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:15:03.630Z<\/p>\n Right now the break has 30 seconds, with Lidl still leading at the front of the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:14:30.512Z<\/p>\n That might be a big group, but it’s not one made up of riders with the kind of pure climbing legs that will be necessary to win on finish like today’s.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:12:40.666Z<\/p>\n The 11 riders up the road are: Beloki, Ulissi, Jacobs, Oliveira, Morgado, Van den Broeck, Juul-Jensen, Gualdi, Teutenberg, Crescioli and Tarozzi.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:11:08.705Z<\/p>\n Not yet – Lidl don’t seem happy with it and have put Milan at the front to pace the peloton.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:10:04.562Z<\/p>\n 11 riders have come together at the front and the rest of the peloton has regrouped. Could this be the break of the day?<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:08:08.242Z<\/p>\n 6 more riders have joined them, including Beloki and Ulissi, while there are multiple groups strewn across the road behind.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:07:16.799Z<\/p>\n Jacobs has gone again, this time with Tarozzi and Nelson Oliveira.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:05:52.231Z<\/p>\n They’ve all been brought back.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:05:24.237Z<\/p>\n Van der Lee has two riders with him: Naberman and Jacobs.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:04:52.816Z<\/p>\n The first attacker is Van der Lee. He’s wearing the blue jersey, but is only wearing that jersey in reserve from Jonas Vingegaard who leads the mountains classification. He’ll be after the points on offer today to take that jersey outright.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:03:46.611Z And they’re off!<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T12:01:29.481Z<\/p>\n It was announced this morning that Pascal Ackermann has withdrawn from the race, but the other 157 riders who finished in Milan have taken to the start today.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T11:59:27.359Z<\/p>\n The mountain top finish ensures this is one for the climbers, but the opening 25km are flat, so it will be interesting to see which riders manage to get into the breakaway at the start. There are still no less than 17 teams without a stage win at the race yet, and so desperation to do so will be reaching fever pitch in the peloton, and therefore another big fight to get into the break is on the cards.<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T11:56:28.411Z<\/p>\n The riders at the start, for what is another hot and sunny day at the Giro.<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n 2026-05-26T11:54:11.303Z<\/p>\n Here’s our preview of the stage.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/QV9EUACgdzyp4jTKYyWLHL.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\nINTERMEDIATE SPRINT<\/p>\n
\n40KM TO GO<\/p>\n![\"CARI,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/bQ69G7uf3aY7THXAzS4ML3.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\nKOM – LEONTICA<\/p>\n
\n50KM TO GO<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/jQ5ymV3T4GWoBbTapaZ64n.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\nKOM – TORRE<\/p>\n
\nKOM – TORRE<\/p>\n
\n60KM TO GO<\/p>\n![\"CARI,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/kDv4xkTifyYMPKrytyjytF.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"App](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/HJeGgcoYCM4TLZniJNdmc4.png\")
\n<\/p>\n
\nKOM – LEONITCA<\/p>\n
\n70KM TO GO<\/p>\n
\n80KM TO GO<\/p>\n
\nKOM – TORRE<\/p>\n![\"CARI,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/kE5fZsTqCAurtwEmxcpbzh.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\n90KM TO GO<\/p>\n![\"CARI,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/qH9pBdkJGdsMru6gYmUUZ6.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
\n100KM TO GO<\/p>\n
\nOFFICIAL START<\/p>\n![\"BELLINZONA,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4N7nnUjNCyJREboqLjiuKh.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n
![\"BELLINZONA,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7TPFqK9rcegkZNVaL7va8B.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"Team](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rkAKjeF6YexE8WrJkwsDDW.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5FHaCho8PBeR7MasphTapH.jpg\")
\n<\/p>\n