Revenge for Milan fiasco: Italian Mur de Huy insufficient to prevent a sprint in Giro d'Italia
CyclingThursday, 28 May 2026 at 17:33
Just four stages left in this Giro d'Italia. And before we head into the Dolomites, we’ve got another very tricky stage to contend with. At first glance, the 18th stage looks like it’s for the sprinters, but the final stretch is tough. Expect a gruelling battle from start to finish in the Prosecco region. IDL Pro Cycling brings you all the action live.
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After quite a few stages where Visma | Lease a Bike ruled with an iron fist, Wednesday saw the attackers take centre stage once again. And so we were treated to perhaps the most beautiful stage of the Giro, where the incredibly tough Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) came out on top. But the runners up should not despair: a new opportunity may be waiting on Thursday.
The eighteenth stage didn't feature too much elevation gain, but the Muro di Ca' del Poggio in the finale could turn everything upside down. Think of the Mur de Huy, but with another ten kilometers of racing to go. It seemed too much for the true sprinters, who had already confirmed this in the mixed zone beforehand. 'Save your legs,' said Paul Magnier of Soudal Quick-Step, for example.
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An hour-long breakaway battle, which was given little room
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Just like the day before, the battle for a place in the breakaway was fierce. Things got particularly heated on a first uncategorised climb after 20 kilometres. Eventually, it was only after nearly 70 kilometres that two riders from Polti-VisitMalta broke away, and they were promptly given space. Mattia Bais and Andrea Mifsud were a bit surprised themselves, but received extra support,
Jonas Geens (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost) made the break, but they never managed to build a real lead. Halfway through the race, the four had a lead of just over a minute, as several teams were controlling the peloton. NSN and Lidl-Trek showed ambition, and UAE Emirates-XRG were also keen to get involved. Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier did take a brief tumble on behalf of Lidl-Trek in a bend.
Three teams are in contention for victory in the Giro peloton; Eulálio crashes
As the race approached the final 30 kilometres, the situation remained unchanged. Very occasionally, the four escapees seemed to be allowed to dream of a substantial lead, but Lidl-Trek, NSN and UAE kept the gap too short to allow for any such dreams. The gap hovered between 1 and 2 minutes, with the final stretch and the steep closing climb still in sight.
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Bahrain Victorious suffered a blow as the finish approached, with Afonso Eulálio taking a tumble. The white jersey wearer suddenly went down in the feed zone in the final 50 kilometres and was visibly in a great deal of pain for a moment. The Portuguese rider did get back on his bike, however, and rejoined the peloton. There, the final 25 kilometres began with the peloton just half a minute behind the leaders.
Who will dominate the steepest sections of Stage 18 of the Giro?
After Jhonatan Narváez had picked up the remaining point for the points classification at the intermediate sprint, we could start preparing for the Muro di Ca' del Poggio, starting after 158.4 kilometres and 1,100 metres long. Geens was reeled in as the last escapee, just before we tackled it. The Unibet Rose Rockets had Lukas Kubis at the front first.
Eulálio was clearly unaffected by the crash and shot off first, just as many sprinters were hoping for a chance. Visma | Lease a Bike let him go, with Sepp Kuss setting the pace for Jonas Vingegaard. That was a shame for Eulálio, as the pace in the peloton wasn’t particularly high, meaning many sprinters weren’t too far behind over the top.
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Will the sprinters make it back?
The only GC contender to be caught out on the climb was Davide Piganzoli. But as NSN were the only team setting the pace at the front of the leading group with just one rider, the chasers had reason to hope. Piganzoli had a Visma domestique there, but plenty of fast riders were also hoping to bridge the gap.
The pace at the front wasn’t fast enough, so Johannes Kulset of Uno-X Mobility decided to make a move. He was joined once again by Eulálio, and once again it was Kuss who took the lead to close the gap. Everything was still up for grabs, with a large peloton closing in on Kuss and co. Paul Magnier and Jonathan Milan were in the mix – were we going to get a sprint after all?
Kulset and Eulálio were doomed just over 3 kilometres from the line, with so many sprinters and helpers in the thinned-out peloton behind them. Soudal Quick-Step and Lidl-Trek organised the proceedings, and so the sprinters got their revenge for the fiasco that took place on day 15 in a flat finish in Milan. Stuyven produced a brilliant lead-out, allowing Magnier to claim his third victory.
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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
- Here is a novel idea......it's a road bike race, stick to smooth asphalt courses! Cobble is like mild off-road cross riding!!!!Germanrazor14-04-2026
- 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
- Can anyone help me understand the thinking behind the two punishments? Are the commissaires saying you get thrown out of the race for a second inadvertent disposal of a bidon (even to the delight of fans) but that as long as you can afford it you can show off your phalangeal cuticles all day long on international TV? Aking for a friend.packfiller7112-03-2026
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
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