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Saturday, May 24, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

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Giro d'Italia stage thirteen team reports

We posted the report from from stage winner Mads Pedersen's Team Lidl-Trek with the results.

Here's the report from second-place Wout van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Wout van Aert finished second in the 13th stage of the Giro d’Italia. On the steep final climb in Vicenza, the 30-year-old Belgian was narrowly beaten by Mads Pedersen.

Mads Pedersen wins stage 13. Sirotti photo

The 13th Giro stage ignited about 50 kilometers from the finish in Vicenza. On the San Giovanni in Monte, a five-kilometer climb, Ineos Grenadiers put pressure on the peloton, causing it to thin out significantly. Due to a misjudgment by another rider, Van Aert ended up in a chasing group. With the help of his teammates, he quickly managed to return to the front. Meanwhile, the peloton kept several breakaway riders within reach. 

In Vicenza, the riders completed a local circuit. The finish line was drawn atop Monte Berico, a short but steep climb. Shortly after the first ascent of Monte Berico, Romain Bardet and Mathias Vacek made a move. The duo gained a small lead, but their breakaway effort ultimately fell short just before the finish. 

On the uphill finishing stretch, Pedersen launched his sprint from far. Only Van Aert was able to stay on the Dane’s wheel. In a thrilling duel, Van Aert was unable to overtake his rival in the final meters. The Belgian narrowly missed out on his second stage victory in this Giro. “I had to dig incredibly deep,” Van Aert commented. “It was a very tough finale. I didn’t dare to go early on this steep final climb, but Mads did. I managed to respond well to his acceleration, but once again, beating him proved extremely difficult.”

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GC leader Isaac del Toro's UAE Team Emirates-XRG posted this race report:

UAE Team Emirates – XRG’s rising star Isaac Del Toro delivered another confident performance at the Giro d’Italia, securing third place on today’s stage and successfully defending the maglia rosa for a fourth consecutive day. The 20-year-old extended his overall lead in the general classification with a composed and tactical ride through the final kilometres, which concluded in Vicenza.

Del Toro’s podium finish came after a tense day of racing that saw several attacks and tactics at play from rival teams.

Juan Ayuso also managed to clinch extra seconds in the GC battle at the intermediate time bonus, reinforcing UAE’s place at the head of the race.

Del Toro: “I didn’t have the sprint in the legs today. Mads and Wout came really fast and I tried to follow but I didn’t have the legs, so Chapeau to them.

Isaac del Toro before the stage start. Sirotti photo

"The plan today was to stay calm, follow the key rivals, and defend the jersey—and we executed that perfectly,I had decent legs, but also importantly, I had great support from my teammates. It’s a special feeling to wear this jersey, and we’ll keep fighting every day to honor it in the team.”

With this result, Del Toro not only extends his advantage in the maglia rosa, but also continues to gain valuable experience is his young and blossoming career. His lead in the GC now stands at 38” ahead of his teammate Juan Ayuso, and crucially 1’18” ahead of third place Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) with several key mountain stages still to come.


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Here's the Giro report from fourth-place Rémy Rochas' Team Groupama-FDJ:

The Groupama-FDJ squad got involved in the fight from start to finish on stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia this Friday. Sven Erik Bystrøm and Lorenzo Germani first joined a nine-rider breakaway, and the Italian even pushed his attempt until twelve kilometres to go, being eventually rewarded with the combativity award.

As for Rémy Rochas, he seized his opportunity on the uphill finish in Vicenza, and took a superb fourth place behind Mads Pedersen, Wout Van Aert, and the pink jersey Isaac del Toro. It is his best result in a Grand Tour, and also the team’s best result in the 2025 Corsa Rosa.

The peloton climbs Mount Berico to stage 13's finish. Sirotti photo

Between two sprint-friendly days, stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia offered a slightly more demanding terrain on Friday between Rovigo and Vicenza. Although barely 1,500 metres of climbing were recorded on the course, the series of hills in the last sixty kilometers, including the uphill finish, opened up opportunities for several types of riders. First and foremost, the attackers. “The goal this morning was to have fun and ride aggressively,” explained Stéphane Goubert.

“The boys were impeccable at the start. Enzo and Clément tried and also deserved to be in the breakaway. Sven also rode very well. He broke away alone and then waited a bit for a group to join him.” In the lead after ten kilometres of racing, the Norwegian was eventually caught by eight riders, including his teammate Lorenzo Germani, who had already escaped in Albania at the start of the Giro. Unfortunately for the two Groupama-FDJ riders and their companions, several teams immediately took control of the peloton, limiting the group’s lead to just two minutes. As a consequence, despite good organization at the front of the race, the fugitives approached the first climbs of the final with barely a minute’s margin.

Lorenzo Germani then decided to accelerate and immediately found himself alone at the front. “It was a good group, we were working well together, but I think the pace was also high behind,” he smiled. “We never had too much of a lead, but I felt very good, and I just wanted the pace to increase on the climbs. De Bondt tried to attack, I countered him immediately, then I managed my effort a bit on the next climb because the peloton wasn’t very far behind.” The Italian tackled the climb of San Giovanni in Monte thirty seconds ahead of the pack, which was then in pieces following a strong push.

“Unfortunately for Lorenzo, the peloton never let a big gap, and we knew something could happen at that point in the race,” added Stéphane. Yet, despite a small group of favorites going fast behind him, the young man put up a strong fight and was able to reach the top in the lead, joined by his fellow countryman Cristian Scaroni. After the downhill, the duo took advantage of a small break in the bunch to bring the gap up to one minute, but the chase restarted quite fast. Lorenzo Germani was therefore able to reach the first crossing of the finish line in Vicenza at the front, but the peloton’s comeback was irreversible.

Twelve kilometres from the finish line, his impressive performance came to an end. “This was an emotionally intense day,” he confessed. “First there’s the adrenaline of being in the breakaway, then you start to think about a lot of things, you start to dream, but in the end, it’s disappointment because you come away with nothing. There is no reward, no podium, just tired legs. I tried before, I tried again, and we’ll see if there are other opportunities. We’ll keep trying, and it will work out eventually. Maybe.” “It’s a shame for Lorenzo, who really deserved to fight for victory until the end,” Stéphane said. “We can see that he is progressing and getting stronger, step by step”.

After two more climbs with about ten kilometres to go, a significantly reduced peloton ultimately headed towards the final climb of Vicenza (800m at 7.5%) for the big battle. “The group reorganized, especially the three guys who were supposed to be there in the final, namely Kevin, Quentin and Rémy,” Stéphane added. “I felt pretty good, but when Ineos Grenadiers attacked on the first climb, I wasn’t very well positioned. I tried to close the gaps and I got a real backlash,” said Rémy Rochas. “I even told the guys I wasn’t feeling well and that I was going to work for them. Then we arrived on the finishing circuit, I felt much better, and I tried to position myself as well as possible.”

The Frenchman entered the day’s closing kilometre beyond the 20th position but was able to gain a few places before the final sprint opened in the last 300 metres. “I tried to anticipate the sprint because I didn’t want to lose momentum on this climb,” said Rémy. Mads Pedersen, however, also started his effort and ultimately won after a close battle against Wout Van Aert. A handful of seconds later, Rémy Rochas emerged to claim a much-noteworthy fourth place ahead of almost all the GC favourites.

“It was a very, very tough finish,” he said. “I had a look at all the stages of the Giro before coming, and I thought that this one could be a good opportunity for me to do something. It’s an effort that suits me well and I’m pretty happy to finish fourth. I couldn’t hope for much better with the three guys in front.” “When you look at today’s podium, and when you look behind him, we have nothing to feel bad about,” Stéphane said. “It was perfect. It’s a nice day overall, and we’re going to continue like this, with this spirit, and with what we have.”

Here's the Giro report from tenth-place Egan Bernal's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Egan Bernal sprinted to 10th place on the uphill finale to stage 13 at the Giro d'Italia, on a day which saw the INEOS Grenadiers pushing the tempo.

The Colombian jumped up to ninth place overall following a strong finish in Vicenza, after the team opened up the racing early with 50 kilometres to go.

A big acceleration on the approach to the fourth category San Giovanni in Monte climb saw the team stringing out the peloton, with huge turns from the likes of Kim Heiduk, Ben Turner and Josh Tarling.

Bernal and Thymen Arensman were present in a select group, with the Dutchman hitting the front briefly before the action gradually came back together.

The peloton early in the stage.

Arensman was able to limit his losses well on the punchy finale of the Monte Berico, dropping 18 seconds. He now sits 13th overall.

The stage win went to Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), with Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) retaining the maglia rosa heading into the weekend.

Egan Bernal: “It was a super hard, demanding stage. I’m tired, but happy.

“Other than racing for the result, I’m racing for myself and aiming to feel good on my bike. When I make it to the bus after stages, I don’t look at the standings. Enjoying cycling is what I care about the most, and I enjoyed today’s race indeed. The team supports me - and there is not much else I can ask for in life.

“Our plan was to try and break the race open, and then see if somebody else wanted to make a move - yet we were many kilometres from the finish. In any case, these efforts will have an impact on everybody's legs further down the road.

“I believe I’m capable of fighting for the ‘maglia rosa’. It’s always the same at the Giro: everybody sprints for a bonus worth two, four seconds maybe… and then, come the final week, the GC will be a matter of minutes. We will be patient.”


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And here's the Giro stage 13 report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:

One of Italy’s largest industrial centers and a city known for its Renaissance architecture, Vicenza returned at the race after ten years. It was the Giro’s tenth visit there, the first of these having been recorded in 1932, the year that the Graf Zeppelin airship began a regular route between Germany and South America and Hergé published his Tintin in America volume. That stage started from Milano and concluded after 207 kilometers with the victory of “The Human Locomotive” Learco Guerra, who became the first leader of the Corsa Rosa after beating countrymen Costante Girardengo and Ettore Meini.

Learco Guerra racing in 1931.

Now, the bunch got underway from Rovigo and took on a 180km course that culminated on the slopes of Monte Berico, just like in 2015. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) emerged victorious on the demanding slopes of the 800m hill, while James Knox concluded around 20 seconds behind as the best placed Soudal Quick-Step rider, maintaining his position in the general classification.

On Saturday, the race will start from Treviso and venture into Slovenia for another finish that should suit the sprinters, the final climb of the three stacked in the last part of the race coming just eight kilometers from Nova Gorica, where a Giro d’Italia stage will conclude for the first time in history.

And here's the Giro report from Romain Bardet's TeamPicnic-PostNL:

Stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia featured a rolling parcours with a punchy finale—prime terrain for a wide range of contenders. As expected, the action ignited early, with several teams eyeing the day’s breakaway. A group of nine riders eventually went clear, including Team Picnic PostNL’s Chris Hamilton. Despite the group’s efforts, the peloton never allowed them more than a 2’30” advantage.

On the main climb of the day, the tempo in the bunch ramped up, reabsorbing the breakaway before the summit. Not much after the San Giovanni in Monte climb, a new move went clear, this time a duo slipping off the front. The peloton, however, kept them firmly on a leash and reeled them back in with 10 kilometres remaining.

Sensing an opportunity on the final descent, Romain Bardet launched a daring attack and was joined by Mathias Vacek. The pair quickly carved out a small gap, stretching it to 15 seconds. But with a final climb still to come, the chasers responded. Bardet and Vacek were reeled in on the uphill, setting the stage for a reduced sprint finish in Vicenza. It was Mads Pedersen who emerged fastest to take the stage win. Max Poole led Team Picnic PostNL across the line in 19th, after another active day in the Giro.

Romain Bardet at the rider's presentation ceremony. Sirotti photo

After the stage, Bardet said: “It was a harder day than it looked on paper, with some super-fast flat sections at the start and then a hilly section where the race exploded. As a team, we rode well together, looking after each other and staying in position. When I saw an opportunity in the final, I went for it.”

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