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The eighth stage of the Giro d'Italia was fiercely contested on Saturday. The victory ultimately went to Jayco AlUla attacker Luke Plapp, who stayed ahead of Visma | Lease a Bike rider Wilco Kelderman. Johan Bruyneel also discussed some interesting developments in the battle for the GC in his podcast
THEMOVE.
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From the start of the stage, it was clear that Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe intended to relinquish the pink jersey of Primoz Roglic, but in the end, it was still a close call. "They wanted to lose the jersey to Lorenzo Fortunato, but he dropped back on the climb." In the end, Diego Ulissi, a teammate of Fortunato, took the pink jersey.
The Italian has a seventeen-second lead over Roglic, while Fortunato is still twelve seconds behind his teammate. "Who would have expected Fortunato to lose ground on that climb?” Bruyneel wonders. “He obviously used a lot of energy for those mountain sprints, which ultimately takes its toll."
Read more below the photo!
Bruyneel: "Win for Ayuso is more mental"
Behind them, the GC contenders were also battling it out, with Tom Pidcock among those attacking. "I don't really understand it. I find it hard to believe that Pidcock thinks he can compete for the GC, and Sunday's stage is perfect for him, so I didn't really understand his attack," Bruyneel analyzed ahead of Sunday's gravel stage to Siena in the Giro.
In the end, there was also a sprint at the finish, with Juan Ayuso once again taking a second back on his big rival Roglic. "Ayuso wanted more seconds. The win is more mental than actual time. If Roglic had really good legs, he wouldn't have let that happen. It doesn't really impact what's to come, but it's the second day in a row that he can't keep up."
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- If he finished ninth at the Tour, why didn’t he get a stage win too? I’m still trying to understand how the overall standings work.julien11-11-2026
- No ‘cross at all this winter? That’s a shame, but with his road season starting in February, I can see why he’d want a proper break. Does stepping away mean he’s done with cyclocross for good?gearguru3311-11-2026
- I like the honesty of that training post. Even the best riders feel the difference after a few weeks off, and he’s got plenty of time to build back up.samanthak11-11-2026
- Three sets of tyres in two days at the Nürburgring! The man clearly doesn’t do anything by halves. Bet a winter without cyclocross will feel strange, though.bikebuffj11-11-2026
- Fifth in the world rankings after that autumn run is some achievement. Pidcock was so aggressive at the Tour, too—hopefully he can turn a few of those near-misses into wins inpatriciaw11-11-2026
- Does XEFI’s investment mean the team will have more money to sign riders, or is it mainly a sponsorship and naming change? And is Roglič expected to race much next season?jeremya11-11-2026
- If the roster is nearly complete, why bring up Roglič at all? Feels like the article is turning a firm “no” into a transfer rumour.andrewf11-11-2026
- Wuling is no joke—105 km of climbing to 3,275 metres is brutal. Five minutes off Dyball’s record is still an incredible ride.velodromevirtuoso111-11-2026
- Roglič at TotalEnergies would be a fascinating move, but Heulot sounds pretty clear that it isn’t happening. His experience could be a massive boost for the younger riders, though.jennifer1911-11-2026
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026