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Wednesday, May 13, 2026

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The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. - Pablo Picasso

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Current racing

• May 8 - 31: Giro d'Italia

Upcoming racing:

• May 16: Tour du Finistère
• May 17: Rund um Köln

Latest completed racing:

• May 10: Tro-Bro Léon
• April 26 - May 3: Tour of Turkey
• April 28 - May 3: Tour de Romandie
• May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt
• April 26: Giro dell'Appennino
• April 23 - 26: Vuelta Asturias
• April 26: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• April 20 - 24: Tour of the Alps
• April 22: La Flèche Wallonne
• April 19: Amstel Gold Race
• April 15 - 19: Tour of Hainan
• April 14 - 18: O Gran Camiño
• April 17: De Brabantse Pijl
• April 19: Tour du Doubs race cancelled
• April 12: Paris-Roubaix
• April 6 - 11: Itzulia Basque Country (Tour of the Basque Country)
• April 7 - 10: Région Pays de la Loire Tour

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Giro d'Italia stage four reports

We posted the report from stage winner Jhonatan Narvaez's UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the results.

Here’s the Giro stage four report from new GC leader Giulio Ciccone's Team Lidl-Trek:

The Italian rider stood on the podium in the Maglia Rosa for the first time in his career after a determined effort on Giro d'Italia Stage 4

Giulio Ciccone couldn’t believe what he had done in Cosenza, the finish town of the first Italian stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia.

A reduced bunch sprint to the line to third place, after picking up bonus seconds earlier in the stage, had secured him the honour of putting the Maglia Rosa on his shoulders, fulfilling a dream he has had since childhood.

"The feeling is amazing. I always dreamed of this jersey since I was a kid. I started this sport dreaming of it, and today I realised my dream. Especially like this, I was not expecting it today, after many hard moments especially last year with the crash, to this year and wearing the pink jersey is really crazy." - Giulio Ciccone

Lidl-Trek started the day with two aces, Jonathan Milan for the potential bunch sprint and Giulio Ciccone, who had the freedom to race for both the stage win and the jersey, the tappa e Maglia.

Giulio Ciccone will start stage five in pink. Sirotti photo

Once the race hit the 14-kilometer-long climb that marked the second half of the day, it was clear that the race would lean in favour of the climbers and puncheurs with large gaps opening up.

"This morning when we did the meeting we had a plan that was 50/50, we didn’t know until the climb if it would be a sprint or a reduced bunch like it was. My plan was to take the jersey, taking seconds in the bonus sprint and seconds at the finish. At the end, I did the sprint, I finished third which was enough for the jersey.

"I think it would be super nice [to wear the Maglia Rosa in his home region]. We still have a few stages and some hard moments to do before we arrive there, but for sure it’s a big dream. We have a good team and for sure we want to defend the jersey and we can go far." - Giulio Ciccone

Ciccone had Lidl-Trek’s General Classification leader, Derek Gee-West and compatriot, Matteo Sobrero with him for company as the race closed in on the fast and technical finish with both riders equally committed to delivery the new race leader into the perfect position before the final corner onto the finish straight.

A late attacked was close with much of the effort done by the Canadian champion before it was man versus man in a drag race up to the line and while, Ciccone came up just short of the victory, his joy was palpable as he discovered he would be wearing pink on Stage 5.

"I really have to say thanks to Derek, he’s a hero. He crashed hard a few days ago and today had a puncture, and Matteo Sobrero brought him back. They were both there to help me in the final, Derek is here with ambitions for the GC and he was there helping me, this means a lot and I hope I can repay the favour. I really believe in him and he can do a super good Giro. He’s like a diesel, he needs some time, but for sure he will be top level in the next week and I will do my best to help him." - Giulio Ciccone

Here's the Giro report from stage four fourth-place Ben Turner's Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team:

Ben Turner produced a superb ride on stage four at the Giro d'Italia to sprint to fourth place in Cosenza.

The race resumed on Italian soil following an early rest day, with a reduced bunch sprint following a selective ascent of the Cozzo Tunno climb.

Thymen Arensman worked his way into the lead peloton over the top and held on to finish safely in the bunch, retaining his GC foothold in the top five overall.

Jhonatan Narvaez wins stage four. Sirotti photo

Egan Bernal became distanced with 45 kilometres to go, but would make his way back into the bunch on the run-in thanks to selfless work from Turner. That effort ensured Bernal holds fourth overall, just four seconds back on new race leader Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), with Arensman two seconds further back.

In the final kilometres, Turner moved himself into a strong position before sprinting to a top five. The stage was won by Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Emirates - XRG).

Here's the Giro report from Lennert Van Eetvelt's Team Lotto-Intermarché:

Lennert Van Eetvelt continues to show strong form in the Giro d'Italia. After already making an impression in the second stage in Bulgaria, he claimed an impressive seventh place today in Cosenza, Italy. “This wasn’t one of the stages I had marked out beforehand, but if I don’t have to let go, then of course I’m not going to let go.”

Van Eetvelt can head into the demanding fifth day of the Giro with confidence. After Movistar Team set a fierce pace and split the peloton, Van Eetvelt managed to stay with the leading group into the finale and contest the sprint. The result was a strong seventh place. “I wanted to see whether my sprint was in decent shape,” said Van Eetvelt. “It wasn’t bad, but against riders like Jhonatan Narváez it’s obviously never easy. So I’m definitely happy with seventh place.”

The peloton races along the Italian coast. Sirotti photo

“Today wasn’t one of the stages I had marked out. The race was very nervous from the start and, with the forecasted wind, we had agreed beforehand not to worry too much about possible echelon formations and just stay calm near the back of the peloton. But obviously, if I don’t have to drop back, I’m not going to. On the climb- which was much harder than expected, by the way; I really didn’t think the sprinters would survive it- everything got shaken up, and I was able to move up calmly.”

Van Eetvelt eventually entered the finale with around forty other riders and sprinted to a fine seventh place. He also moves into seventh place in the general classification, ten seconds behind new race leader Giulio Ciccone. “Of course, the chance of taking the pink jersey gets smaller every day. I came here mainly for a stage win and not specifically for the general classification. We’ll just take it day by day and see how things go. Starting tomorrow, because that will once again be a tough stage.”

Stage four also brought mixed feelings for Lotto–Intermarché, as Arnaud De Lie was unfortunately forced to abandon the race. Following the Lotto Famenne Ardenne Classic, he- like several other riders in the peloton- fell ill after ingesting bacteria from the road surface. Yesterday’s rest day brought no improvement: De Lie did not recover sufficiently and is forced to leave this Giro d’Italia due to illness.

Here's the Giro report from points classification leader Paul Magnier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

Corsa Rosa finally arrived in Italy after three days on Bulgarian soil, for a 138km stage from Catanzaro to Cosenza. Home to the Cosentian Academy, one of the oldest academies of philosophical and literary studies in Italy and Europe, the town whose history dates back to pre-Roman times welcomed the Giro for the 11th time in history and for the first time since 1989.

The day features just one climb, Cozzo Tunno, but this 15km ascent was enough for the fast men to get dropped by the teams targeting a reduced bunch sprint at the end of stage four. Paul Magnier did his best to stay in the group as long as possible, but he too was distanced due to the big tempo pushed at the front of the peloton.

Giro d'Italia stage four gets started. RCS photo

On Via Trieste, the uphill drag to the line where the stage concluded, Andrea Raccagni was the one who carried the flag for Soudal Quick-Step, and the 22-year-old Grand Tour debutant didn’t disappoint, finishing ninth, same time as Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates), who took the win. Paul Magnier arrived a couple of minutes later, part of a large group, and retained the ciclamino jersey, which he’ll wear on Wednesday for the fourth stage in a row.

And here's the Giro report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike safely navigated the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia. Team leader Jonas Vingegaard and the Dutch squad looked strong on the day’s only categorized climb, but did not get involved in the sprint battle among the reduced peloton.

After the Bulgarian triple-header, Team Visma | Lease a Bike had to continue on Italian soil without Wilco Kelderman. The 35-year-old Dutchman was still suffering too much from the effects of his crash last Saturday. In Italy, the remaining seven riders in yellow and black quickly took control of the peloton during the fourth stage. Six riders went on the attack early, after which all eyes turned to Cozzo Tunno (14.4 km at 5.9%), the only categorized climb of the day.

With around fifty kilometers still remaining after the summit, the climb ultimately proved decisive. Several sprinters were dropped, leaving a reduced peloton to battle for the stage victory in Cosenza. Thanks to strong work from Belgians Timo Kielich and Tim Rex on the climb, the Dutch squad was well represented in the front group with five riders, but did not contest the sprint for the stage win. The victory went to Jhonatan Narváez.

Jonas Vingegaard gets his bike before the start of stage four. Sirotti photo/

Sports director Marc Reef describes it as a strong first day in Italy. “Before the stage, we had clearly identified staying out of trouble as the main objective today. The wind at the start made things nervous, and the pace was high right from the beginning. That’s why we made sure Jonas was well positioned near the front on the climb and the following descent. Timo and Tim played a huge role in that and really put in a lot of work.”

“We stayed attentive on the climb and still had five riders in the front group. It’s unfortunate that Jonas didn’t manage to take any bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint, but the most important thing today was crossing the finish line safely in the front group. We achieved that, and we can be very satisfied with it”, Reef concludes. Tomorrow, the peloton faces another stage featuring serious climbing.