Giro d'Italia 2026 Stage 14 Preview | Does Vingegaard's 'Project Pink' finally begin now?

Attackers, you can put the knives away for now. This one belongs to the lightweight climbers; to the men with pink dreams. The battle for the general classification lead is about to burst open, with one of the hardest stages in the entire Giro d'Italia. Will we have a new pink jersey at the top of Pila? IDL Pro Cycling previews Giro stage 14.

After several transition stages, it is finally time to head into the mountains. This short stage of 133 kilometres packs in no fewer than 4,350 metres of climbing. The road goes uphill from the very start, meaning it will be an unpleasant day right from the gun for anyone with poor climbing legs.

The opening climb is a first-category ascent. At nearly 16 kilometres with an average gradient of 6.2 per cent, the Saint-Barthélemy is a climb where a strong climber in the breakaway can make an early difference — but GC men will need to be on full alert from the moment the flag drops. The steepest ramp hits 13 per cent, though there are also brief descending sections.

After the Saint-Barthélemy the riders drop down to the only flat kilometres of the day, before an uncategorised rise leads to Rolsan, where the intermediate sprint is located. Immediately afterwards comes the third-category climb to Doues: 5.8 kilometres at 6.2 per cent.

After a quick descent and a short valley, two more climbs follow back to back — a genuine one-two punch. The Lin Noir (7.5km at 7.8 per cent) is the first and the harder of the two, and it is immediately followed by the Verrogne climb (5.6km at 6.9 per cent). There is essentially no real descent between the two.

From the top of the Verrogne there are still 41 kilometres to the finish, beginning with a long descent. After the Red Bull kilometre 18 kilometres from the line, everything builds towards the day's ultimate test: the final climb to Pila.

At 16.5 kilometres with an average gradient of 7.1 per cent, Pila is no gentle Sunday ride. After a brutal day in the mountains, the GC riders will undoubtedly want to attack each other — and the terrain is perfect for it, with sustained stretches at between 7 and 9 per cent and a steep final section. This promises to be something special.

Times
Start: 1:05 p.m. CET (12:05 p.m. GMT | 7:05 a.m. ET)
Finish: around 4:55 p.m. CET (3:55 p.m. GMT | 10:55 a.m. ET)

It promises to be a warm day. Temperatures are expected to reach 29 degrees Celsius with a light breeze — a lovely beach day, were it not for the 4,000-plus metres of climbing the riders have to get through. Team directors will need to make sure they have enough bidons in the cars.

The Blockhaus stage serves as the best reference point for the form book heading into stage 14. And every time the road has gone seriously uphill, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) has been the strongest rider in the race. It seems highly likely he will take the pink jersey today — provided the Giro virus has not left its mark. Teammate Davide Piganzoli has also kept surprising everyone alongside him. Could he do it again?

The biggest challenge to Vingegaard so far has come from Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), and this looks like a stage tailor-made for the Austrian — the harder, the better. Beyond that, it is a case of hoping the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe men are feeling better. Giulio Pellizzari lost a lot of time, but on paper he is one of the best climbers in the race. Add Jai Hindley alongside him and you have a strong partnership.

Pellizzari is one of the young climbers to watch. Alongside Piganzoli, there is also Mathys Rondel (Tudor), who will be hoping to make up ground after a disappointing time trial. Michael Storer is his co-leader. We are also curious to see what the 20-year-old Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost) can do. And do not forget Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) — still only 24. Winning today seems unlikely, but he keeps holding onto that pink jersey. What has he got in store?

Thymen Arensman (Netcompany-INEOS) will defend his podium position tooth and nail. This stage should suit him better than Blockhaus did. We expect a little less from Egan Bernal given his performances in the high mountains. In addition to Australians Storer and Hindley, Australia has two more riders in the top ten: Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) and Chris Harper (Pinarello-Q36.5).

Lidl-Trek sees Derek Gee-West improving with every stage, and they also have Giulio Ciccone if it turns out not to be a GC men's day at all. Speaking of which: there are plenty of climbers who fancy their chances in the breakaway — Enric Mas (Movistar), for example, or teammate Einer Rubio. And Wout Poels, of course. The Dutchman from Unibet Rose Rockets came to Italy for exactly these kinds of stages.

We will also see other names in the breakaway. Perhaps it is another day for Jardi Christiaan van der Lee (EF Education-EasyPost), Luca Vergallito (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana), Alessandro Tonelli (Polti VisitMalta) and Josh Kench (Groupama-FDJ).

Favorite: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders: Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), Giulio Pellizzari, Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS)
Long shots: Derek Gee-West, Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Mathys Rondel, (Tudor), Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious), (Jayco AlUla), Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike), Enric Mas (Movistar), Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost) and Wout Poels (Unibet Rose Rockets)