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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,

Saturday, May 30, 2026

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I have no dress except the one I wear every day. If you are going to be kind enough to give me one, please let it be practical and dark so that I can put it on afterwards to go to the laboratory. - Marie Curie

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Current racing

• May 8 - 31: Giro d'Italia

Upcoming racing:

• June 1 - 6: Ethias-Tour de Wallone
• June 7: Brussels Cycling Classic
• June 7 - 14: Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
• June 10: Circuit Franco-Belge

Latest completed racing:

• May 28 - 31: Tour of Norway
• May 20 - 24: 4 Jours de Dunkerque
• May 23: Veenendaal - Veenendaal
• May 19: Classique Dunkerque
• May 17: Rund um Köln
• May 16: Tour du Finistère
• May 10: Tro-Bro Léon
• April 26 - May 3: Tour of Turkey
• April 28 - May 3: Tour de Romandie
• May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt
• April 26: Giro dell'Appennino
• April 23 - 26: Vuelta Asturias
• April 26: Liège-Bastogne-Liège

We posted the report from stage winner Sepp Kuss' Team Visma | Lease a Bike with the results.

Here's the Giro stage nineteen report from points classification leader Paul Magnier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Six classified climbs, 5000 meters of elevation and a summit finish in Alleghe - where the Giro d’Italia returned after more than half a century: the queen stage of this edition, or in Dante Alighier’s famous words: “Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate [Abandon all hope, ye who would enter].”

A real tappone, despite being just 151 kilometers in length, a day of suffering in the Dolomites, of breathtaking landscape and of the Cima Coppi, a distinction which this year belonged to Passo Giau, the famous climb that made its 11th appearance at the race. It was a long and brutal day in the saddle for everybody, especially the sprinters - including Paul Magnier - but the 22-year-old concluded it well inside the time limit, with the support of his Soudal Quick-Step teammates.

Paul Magnier after stage 18. Sirotti photo

Winner of three stages at just his second Giro d’Italia participation, the Frenchman spent the stage in the maglia ciclamino, which gave him an extra boost to fight Friday afternoon. Having survived this edition’s most demanding stage, Magnier has to overcome just one more day in the mountains before arriving in Rome, where he’ll get not just another opportunity to score a stage win in the shadow of the Colosseum, but also to seal his triumph in the points classification.

Here's the Giro stage nineteen report from Young Rider classification leader Afonso Eulalio's Team Bahrain Victorious:

Afonso Eulálio kept the Maglia Bianca after Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia, coming through one of the hardest mountain days of the race with two stages remaining.

The 151km stage from Feltre to Alleghe brought the race deep into the Dolomites, with almost 5,000 metres of climbing packed into the route. Passo Duran, Coi, Forcella Staulanza, Passo Giau, Passo Falzarego and the final climb above Alleghe, at Piani di Pezzè, made it a day with almost no space to recover.

Afonso Eulalio climbing in stage 18. Sirotti photo

For the team, the main focus was once again on Eulálio and the defence of the young rider classification. The Portuguese rider had to manage a difficult day in the high mountains, with the GC group reduced again over the final climbs, but he reached the finish safely and kept hold of the white jersey.

Eulálio is now sixth overall and continues to lead the Maglia Bianca standings by 1:03, keeping the jersey ahead of the final mountain stage and Sunday’s finish in Rome.

Damiano Caruso was also active again for the team, spending the day in the breakaway before finishing seventh on the stage, 1:06 behind the winner. The Italian remains ninth overall after another solid ride in the mountains.

The stage victory went to Sepp Kuss (Team Visma – Lease a Bike), who attacked late and took the win ahead of Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek). Behind them, Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) kept the Maglia Rosa after a very hard day in the mountains.

Afonso Eulalio said:
“It was a super hard stage today, with long climbs all day. I had to suffer a lot, especially in the final, but this is the Giro and these are the days where you need to keep fighting.

"Damiano did a super job in the breakaway, and the team stayed with me and supported me as much as possible. In the end, we kept the white jersey for one more day, and that is the most important thing.

"Tomorrow is another hard stage, and we know it will be one more important day. The last five kilometres today felt very long, but we are still here, still in white, and we will keep fighting until the end.”

Franco Pellizotti added:
“Stage 19 was the queen stage of this Giro d’Italia, and in the end we came through it pretty well. Damiano was in the breakaway and we tried with him to go for the stage, while with Afonso the goal was to defend his GC position and the Maglia Bianca.

"It was a hard stage from the start, especially because some GC riders were already in the breakaway, and from the first KOM climb the race was fast and difficult to control. In the end, we survived. We lost one position on GC with Afonso and some time in the white jersey classification, but we are still in the game.

"Tomorrow is the last important stage, with Piancavallo twice, and it will be the final day to fight. We need to keep going until the end because we are close — very close to Rome — and close to achieving a great result.”

The Giro continues tomorrow with Stage 20, from Gemona del Friuli to Piancavallo, the final mountain stage before the race reaches Rome.

Here's the Giro report from Thymen Arensman's Team Netcompany INEOS:

Thymen Arenman put in a gritty, determined performance on the final climb as he limited his losses on a brutal stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia.

Arensman was dropped by a late attack on the summit finish by Felix Gall, decided not to follow but managed to pace himself to reduce the deficit and give himself a chance of retaining his podium place on stage 20.

Sepp Kuss (Visma - Lease a bike) earned the stage win from the break, with Arensman finishing 12th and Egan Bernal 13th to move fourth and 10th on GC respectively.

Thymen Arensman finishes stage sixteen. Sirotti photo

Earlier, Netcompany INEOS had been aggressive from the outset, aiming to put a rider into the early break.

The battle for the break raged for many kilometres, but it was only when the climbs started to build that any difference was seen.

Embret Svestad-Bårdseng joined the escapees and was part of the break that formed from two splinter groups combined. The Norwegian rider was then able to stay ahead, until the group - which contained three riders in the top 10 on GC - started to gain significant time.

Svestad-Bårdseng then dropped back to the dwindling group of favourites and helped raise the pace to draw Arensman and Bernal back to the break ahead of the final climb where both GC riders paced themselves to limit losses and stay in contention ahead of the final mountain test on stage 20.

Andf here's the Giro report from Derek Gee-West's Team Lidl-Trek:

Lidl-Trek went on the offence on stage 9 of the Giro d’Italia, placing Giulio Ciccone and and Matteo Sobrero in the initial breakaway, who were then joined by Derek Gee-West. Ciccone capitalised on the opportunity, picking up 140 points in the mountains classification, including the valuable 50 points on offer at the Cima Coppi – Passo Giau.

Derek Gee-West finishes stage 19. Sirotti photo

Gee-West’s presence in the breakaway also gave him the chance to make significant gains in the general classification. The Canadian champion began the stage with his eyes on a top-five GC position, and to do so needed to overcome a one minute and forty second deficit to Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious). Gee-West picked up precious seconds on his GC rivals at the hotly-contested Red Bull sprint on the slopes of Passo Falzarego. Shortly afterwards, Ciccone launched a bold attack over the summit, gaining over a minute on the descent, which allowed Gee-West to recover in the wheel of his breakaway companions.

Just one climb stood between Ciccone and stage victory, but on the steep final ascent the Italian paid for his earlier efforts and was passed by stage winner Sepp Kuss (Visma Lease-a-bike). Gee-West, who continues to improve as the Giro goes on, was not far behind, pushing the American all the way to the line. Lidl-Trek end the day with second and third place on the stage, the Maglia Azzura on the shoulders of Giulio Ciccone, and Derek Gee-West firmly in the Giro d’Italia top five.

Derek’s reaction:
“It was super hard, I mean, right from the start. I was just going stay with the GC guys and then Tudor pulled a really good move with Michael jumping and then a bunch of their guys dropping back, pulling him across, so I had to go with that. And then, to be honest, I thought we had the stage when Cicco went on the descent and there was a bit of disorder behind. Hats off to Sepp, the way he pulled in the valley, I was sitting in the wheels and he still rode away from me.

"Tudor did a really good job into Giau to keep the gap open and then, yeah, Michael, Giulio and I committed to keeping it rolling. Cicco moved into the lead of the KOM, so that was a big goal going into the day. When he went for the KOM and Rubio sat up, there was just an immediate gap and he kept it going and I was on the radio telling him, you know, it was super disordered. And then, I mean, also credit to Michael, he knew he was riding for a GC gap and he just put his head down in the valley.”

Cicco’s reaction:
“I’m happy. It was really painful. Full gas from the start to the end. I think as a team we had a plan and we did a great stage. We finished second and third. Maybe we can be a bit disappointed to miss the victory, but we can be super proud as a team because we did a super good job.

"I mean, I went in the downhill and then in the valley it was full headwind. I think this was a good move also for Derek because like this he could stay on the wheel. And then I don’t know what happened behind me because I was in the front and I didn’t watch the stage yet.

"I saw Kuss coming double speed and there was nothing to do. Then at the same time I saw Derek that he was pacing, but I was completely à bloc. So he went straight past and finished second.”