Sepp Kuss was unbeatable. © ANSA / LUCA ZENNARO

Queen stage at the Giro: A Vingegaard helper wins

Dominator Jonas Vingegaard conceded the stage win on the queen stage of the Giro d'Italia to his teammate Sepp Kuss, but is nevertheless close to overall victory.

29 May 2026

From: dpa

The 29-year-old Dane only needed fifth place on the 151-kilometer 19th stage to Piani di Pezzè. Behind his victorious American teammate Kuss, Canadian Derek Gee finished second on the very tough stage with 4.800 meters of elevation gain, ahead of Italian Giulio Ciccone.

In the overall standings, Vingegaard maintains a 4:03 minute lead over Austrian Felix Gall. Former Giro winner Jai Hindley of Australia is third, 5:04 minutes behind.

A kiss makes the trilogy perfect

The professional cyclists had to conquer six climbs, including the 2.233-meter-high Passo Giau, the highest point of the 109th Giro d'Italia. A large breakaway group dominated the race for a long time, but Vingegaard's Visma team never allowed them to gain more than three minutes.

There was no shortage of breathtaking images on Friday. © APA/afp / LUCA BETTINI

Kuss, who had been part of the breakaway, finally seized the initiative on the final climb. Although only five kilometers long, it had an average gradient of 9,7 percent. Kuss ultimately held off Gee by 13 seconds, thus winning a Giro stage after his stage victories at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.

Three-time stage winner drops out

Early in the stage, one of the Giro d'Italia's leading riders abandoned the race. Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez withdrew. The three-time stage winner of this year's Giro had a minor accident the previous day on his way to the team bus and was consequently unwell. Narváez had won stages four, eight, and eleven.

Jonas Vingegaard is on the verge of overall victory. © APA/afp / LUCA BETTINI

Saturday features the final mountain test, where Vingegaard should theoretically clinch the overall victory without difficulty. The first 130 of the 200 kilometers between Gemona del Friuli and the winter sports resort of Piancavallo are largely flat. Then, the riders must tackle the 14,5-kilometer climb to the finish twice. In total, there are 3.750 meters of elevation gain, around 1.000 meters less than on the queen stage. Traditionally, the leader is not attacked on the final stage in Rome.