The fat lady has sung. It’s probably just about fair to say that the Jonas Vingegaard in the first half of the 2026 Giro d’Italia was not quite on peak form, especially including that time-trial performance. But if there was any lingering doubt, it’s been thoroughly extinguished. Vingegaard and his Visma team have dominated this back-loaded Giro, and the Dane saved perhaps his most dominant ride for today’s slopes of Piancavallo. The 29-year-old claimed his fifth individual stage victory of the race, putting the final exclamation point on a dominant three weeks.
Barring a disaster on the streets of Rome tomorrow, Vingegaard will complete his historic trilogy of overall victories across all three Grand Tours.
The final mountain test of the 109th Giro was 200-kilometers of difficult terrain, including a double ascent of the Piancavallo climb. The real fireworks were expected late on the final climb, but Vingegaard didn’t want to wait. With 10 kilometers still remaining on the mountain, the pink jersey launched a vicious acceleration.
The attack was unmatchable. The Dane tore open a gap to his nominal General Classification rivals, methodically swept past the final remnants of the early breakaway, and rode solo into a wall of roaring tifosi. By the time he crossed the finish line, he had secured Visma’s sixth stage victory of this Giro, just 24 hours after Sepp Kuss’s solo triumph in the Dolomites.
Adding a layer of local significance to the victory, Vingegaard crossed the line wearing a special edition maglia rosa featuring a tribute to the victims of the devastating 1976 Friuli earthquake, which struck the region the peloton raced through today.
The race wraps up on Sunday with a celebratory procession and final sprint circuit in Rome, where Vingegaard will formally ascend the top step of the podium.
Results
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