Outstanding Jonas Vingegaard, a cat-and-mouse chase, and an off-day for Giulio Pellizzari on a mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia
CyclingTuesday, 26 May 2026 at 17:04
Jonas Vingegaard demonstrated once again on Tuesday that he is unstoppable in this Giro d'Italia. The Dane from Visma Lease a Bike needed only one acceleration to take the victory, while the chase behind was as entertaining as any game of cat-and-mouse. Felix Gall took second from a motivated bunch of podium hopefuls.
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Frank van den Broek, Lidl-Trek and UAE Active
The race got underway the moment the flag dropped. The first 27 kilometres were mostly flat, which meant that the riders who excel on the flat were quick to make their presence felt. Eleven riders opened up a gap relatively quickly, including Frank van den Broek of Picnic PostNL Raisin.
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Still in the mix? Markel Beloki (EF), Simone Gualdi (Lotto-Intermarché), Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ), Chris Juul Jensen (Jayco AlUla), Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani), Ludovico Crescioli (Polti VisitMalta), Diego Ulissi (XDS-Astana).
Lidl-Trek had only Tim Torn Teutenberg at the front, whereas the plan had been to have climber Giulio Ciccone there. And so the German team positioned Milan and co at the front, with UAE lending a hand: a team with Antonio Morgado in that leading group. A little later, it became clear why the team from the Emirates had made that move: Jhonatan Narváez wanted to be there to pick up the points.
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Ciccone once again in the thick of the action
This got things moving again, and the first climb immediately saw Max Walscheid, Simone Consonni and Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek drop the pack. Their teammate Ciccone was up front with them, but Visma | Lease a Bike didn’t let the breakaway riders get too far ahead. Despite the fact that riders such as Ciccone and Chris Harper, who is close to the top ten, threw themselves into the fray.
Ciccone also took the mountain points on the first climb of the day, overtaking Van der Lee to move into second place in that classification. And so, with the top ten, the points classification and the mountains classification, all sorts of battles within the race emerged in this sixteenth stage of the Giro. At least, as long as the team of pink jersey wearer Vingegaard allowed it.
The tireless Italian from Lidl-Trek then set off on his own at the front, prompting a response from Harper and Narvaez. Van der Lee also tried to make the move – after Ulissi and Rubio – but, like his compatriot Van den Broek, fell just short. They were caught by the peloton just over fifty kilometers from the finish, which gave the breakaway a maximum lead of one and a half minutes.
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Vingegaard motivated for Giro final climb
There was already some irritation brewing at the front, particularly among Ciccone. He had already made his feelings known to Van der Lee on several occasions during the race and then lashed out at a support staff member from his Lidl-Trek team, as the man hadn’t provided him with the right supplies to his liking. This was done in typical Italian fashion...
Despite the small lead the men at the front gained, they still worked well together. However, the same was happening in the peloton, with Decathlon CMA CGM lending a helping hand to Visma Lease a Bike heading towards the climb of Cari, which featured 12 kilometers at an average gradient of 8 percent. Ciccone and co realized the futility of their attempt and dropped back before the final climb after a full day of racing.
Red Bull drops its own leader, others follow
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At the start of the climb, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe stepped up the pace further, but this cost their own leader Pellizzari, who was dropped with ten kilometres to go. Aleksandr Vlasov was then called upon to ride at the back of the group, but the young Italian was completely unable to make any headway and would lose a great deal of time.
Following Pellizzari, Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) and Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), second and eighth in the general classification, quickly joined the dropped riders. Sepp Kuss was also unable to hold on for long, meaning Davide Piganzoli might have had to step up a bit earlier than originally planned for Vingegaard in the heat.
Were there any more left? Gall, Arensman, Bernal, Hindley and Storer: a total of just seven riders, but all still battling for places in the top ten behind Vingegaard. The Dane attacked 6.5 kilometres from the finish and left the other GC contenders – each riding at their own pace – behind him.
Bernal put in a turn for Arensman, which was a nice gesture from the Colombian, and caught Gall. Together they gained a one-minute lead over Eulalio, who was in second place before the start of the stage.
Motivated chase group all eyeing a podium spot
Are there any more left? Gall, Arensman, Bernal, Hindley, Gee-West and Storer: just seven riders in total, but all of them are still battling it out for places in the top ten behind Vingegaard. The Dane launched his attack 6.5 kilometres from the finish and left the other GC contenders – each riding at their own pace – behind him.
Bernal worked for Arensman, which was a nice gesture from the Colombian, and caught up with Gall. Together they gained a one-minute lead over Eulalio, who was second before the start of the stage, and extended Pellizzari’s deficit even further before Arensman stepped it up a notch. Gall and Hindley followed, whilst Vingegaard was already riding almost two minutes ahead.
Gall squeezed out a final sprint in the last few hundred metres, where Arensman had to concede a few metres. In the general classification, however, the Dutchman still holds off the Australian.
Results stage 16 Giro d'Italia 2026
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Latest Comments
- The only cyclist who can beat Tadej is Tadej.
Brucegel09-05-2026 - Enough of this b.s. already.Just tell the world all you suspicious people what would satisfy you that he is not doping.live real time urinating and testing?.Live real time blood draws 5 seconds after a race is over?.Fecal analysis.WTF will satisfy you?Brucegel03-05-2026
- This suspicion could be laid to rest by what? What would make all doubters happy that Pogi is clean? Just tell the world all you Frenchmen et al what you want as protocol.You will never be satisfied.That is your level of mindless groundless suspicions.Brucegel03-05-2026
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- To lose a race like that on a mechanical problem in this day and age is unforgivable. Why aren't all riders using the same (interchangeable) gear? It is the job of the team manager to manage and reduce risk variables. The fact that he not only didn't pick up on the potential issue but actually ok'd it is just madness.fatehasfans13-04-2026
- Rider X, y and z? Could you update?yaNzKEWL21-03-2026
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- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
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- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
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