Sepp Kuss seals the Visma party; Giro queen stage blows up the podium standings as Arensman suffers
CyclingFriday, 29 May 2026 at 17:30
Sepp Kuss won the queen stage of the Giro d'Italia on Friday from a breakaway. Visma Lease a Bike rode a flawless race and thus retained the pink jersey with Jonas Vingegaard, while Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) lost time to his biggest rivals.
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Jonas Vingegaard has been the best on the uphill finishes four times so far, but there hasn’t been a single stage like this one yet. The Dolomites live up to their legendary status, with the passage over the infamous Passo Giau, the Cima Coppi of this Giro: the highest mountain pass. It would separate the wheat from the chaff.
Whether Vingegaard was up for a fifth stage win remained to be seen. He had previously said he’d prefer to take it a bit easier, but you never know with the eager Dane. In any case, the breakaway riders also sensed their chance and were now hoping for an opportunity in the high mountains. But the podium contenders certainly had their own plans for this gruelling stage to Piani di Pezzè.
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A fierce battle was expected from the start, and so it proved. Not just from the men hoping to win the stage, because Netcompany INEOS and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe were keen to have riders in the breakaway to help their leaders later in the race. Naturally, Decathlon CMA CGM weren’t happy about that. It meant it took a long time again before a breakaway could be established.
The Dolomites: for breakaway riders or GC favourites?
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Eventually, a group of five riders managed to open up a small gap. Chris Harper (Pinarello Q36.5), Florian Stork (Tudor), Johannes Kulset and Fredrik Dversnes (both Uno-X Mobility) were joined by Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe domestique Nico Denz. They didn’t have much room for manoeuvre as the road began to climb again: the Passo Duran marked the start of the gruelling Dolomites.
A second group of attackers soon arrived, catching up at the foot of the Duran. A dozen riders, including Gijs Leemreize (Picnic PostNL), Thomas Silva (XDS Astana), Alessandro Pinarello (NSN) and Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Earlier in the day, Christen had seen his team-mate Jhonatan Narváez drop out: the three-time stage winner got into the car. According to RAI, he had collided with a bus after stage 18.
Once the climb really began, we saw the riders you’d expect to see at the front and back. At the front, Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Einer Rubio (Movistar) and Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike), among others, made their presence felt, whilst at the back the door was open for Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) and their teammates.
Derek Gee-West throws a cat among the podium pigeons
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The next ones to go? Number 9 Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), and naturally, there was a reaction from that. Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek), Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), and Michael Storer (Tudor) went after him.
Gee-West capitalised on Tudor’s work and provisionaly knocked Thymen Arensman off the podium, but other riders in the top ten were also finding it tough. O'Connor cracked, but Bahrain Victorious's white jersey holder Afonso Eulalio was also struggling badly on the day's second climb. And that was good news for the white jersey ambitions of Davide Piganzoli, Vingegaard's lead-out man.
Derek Gee-West attacked early on stage 19
Big fight for the Cima Coppi, but Ciccone makes sure
The Portuguese rider did manage to catch up, just as the Visma riders eased off the pace slightly. Meanwhile, at the front, Ciccone and Rubio made their move, with the mountains jersey their target. To achieve this, Ciccone needed the Passo Giau – which began 59 kilometres from the finish – to secure maximum points. He started the climb with a lead of more than two minutes.
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Lidl-Trek is hedging its bets
Lidl-Trek were therefore trying to have their cake and eat it, whilst Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe briefly played the Jai Hindley card and set the pace on the Cima Coppi – the Giau, that is. At the front, their rider Giulio Pellizzari was really pushing hard, with Ciccone, Kuss and Rubbio in his wake. Poels had already dropped back slightly in that group, where Ciccone took the Cima Coppi and thus virtually took over the blue mountain jersey. Among the general classification contenders, things remained fairly quiet, led by Bart Lemmen.
This created an interesting situation, particularly for Gee-West, who took a 3.30-minute lead and thus moved up to second place virtually: ahead of Gall and Arensman. He received no help from his teammate Ciccone; on the contrary, the Italian accelerated in a fit of rage at Rubio, whilst Netcompany INEOS and Decathlon CMA CGM worked together behind them.
Arensman loses Giro podium place
This climb was 5 kilometres long with a 10 per cent gradient, which Ciccone began with a one-minute lead over the chasers and a 2-minute 15-second lead over most of the GC contenders. Pellizzari and Kuss immediately set off in pursuit, whilst Gall led the charge in the group of favourites. As a result, Arensman was already having to dig deep into his reserves.
When Gall really kicked on, the Dutchman was also forced to let Hindley go, putting his third place in jeopardy. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe decided at that point to hold back Pellizzari, which put Arensman under even more pressure and ultimately knocked him off the podium in this Giro.
At the front, Kuss caught Ciccone with just over two kilometres to go, after which the American immediately left Ciccone behind, thus completing the Visma | Lease a Bike celebration. Gee-West finished in second place.
Results Giro d'Italia 2026 stage 19
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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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