Visma | LaB talent Nordhagen attacks early, but Widar wins after thrilling Giro Next Gen stage

Vervenne's stage victory on Monday can only be described as a mega stunt. The Belgian rider from the Soudal Quick-Step development team was in the early breakaway. He left his fellow breakaway rider behind more than sixty kilometers from the finish and then stayed ahead of the peloton alone. He also took over the leader's jersey. On paper, it would be tough for the young Belgian to keep the pink jersey on Tuesday, as the finish was on the Passo del Maniva (13.2 kilometers at 6.9%).

Five riders broke away from the start, but only three leaders soon left. Luxembourg's Alexandre Kess and New Zealand's Reef Roberts had flat tires, leaving only Belgium's Lars VanDen Heede, Italy's Matteo Cettolin, and his compatriot Samuele Mion at the front.

The trio gained over three minutes on the peloton while Kess and Matteo Bozivecich tried to catch up with the breakaway riders. First, Lotto and then Lidl-Trek took up the chase in support of Widar and Albert Withen Philipsen, respectively.

The race exploded on the Passo de Trei Termini (8.1 kilometers at 5.9%), with pink jersey wearer Vervenne dropping out early. The breakaway riders were also reeled in early. At the top, there were just over 45 kilometers to go, but the peloton had already been thinned out considerably. On that climb, we saw the Visma | Lease a Bike riders pick up the pace, as they wanted to make the race tough for their leader, Jørgen Nordhagen.

On the final climb, it was once again Visma | Lease a Bike that set a very high pace, leaving the door wide open at the back of the peloton. Mountain jersey wearer Matisse van Kerckhove put in a very strong turn at the front, after which Nordhagen had only teammate Tim Rex ahead of him with just over ten kilometers to go. Widar followed the young Norwegian early on while Aubin Sparfel stayed close.

But Sparfel had to let go with nine kilometers to go. The pace, led by the Belgian Rex, was still very high, and there was still a long way to go to the finish. With 7.3 kilometers to go, Nordhagen decided to make a move with Widar, Lorenzo Finn, and Withen Philipsen on his wheel. This left us with a group of favorites consisting of only nine riders.

At 5.6 kilometers, Nordhagen accelerated again, but this time, the Norwegian immediately opened up a nice gap. However, his lead over the chasing group remained around seven seconds for a long time, so victory was uncertain. With 2.7 kilometers to go, the nine riders at the front came back together, with Luke Tuckwell doing a good job at the front for his team leader, Finn.

Finn accelerated at 2.4 kilometers. Widar could follow, but UAE talent Adrià Pericas had a little more trouble. Nordhagen had used up all his energy and couldn't keep up with the pace. The same was true for Withen Philipsen, leaving Finn and Widar to ride to the finish line together.

With an attack in the last 200 meters, Widar seemed to surprise his Italian rival, allowing the Belgian to sprint to stage victory with a very convincing acceleration. Finn finished second, seven seconds behind, while Pericas took third place.