Kuss completes the set

Sepp Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike claimed a historic solo victory on stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, conquering the queen stage from Feltre to Alleghe. The American caught and passed Italian Giulio Ciccone with just over two kilometres remaining on the final climb to Piani di Pezzè, crossing the line 13 seconds ahead of Canadian Derek Gee-West. The win makes Kuss the 116th rider in cycling history to complete the Grand Tour stage victory trilogy, adding the Giro success to previous wins at the Tour de France in 2021 and the Vuelta a España in 2019 and 2023.

“To be honest, it's something I always dreamt of, but every year it's getting harder and harder. I keep progressing, but so does everyone else, so every year that goes by, I think it's going to be even harder to win a stage in the Giro to complete all three, but I just can't believe it.”

A brutal day in the Dolomites

The monstrous 151-kilometre stage packed approximately 5,000 metres of altitude gain into a relentless rollercoaster of high-altitude climbs and technical descents. The route included six classified ascents, with the Passo Giau serving as the Cima Coppi, the highest point of this year's race at 2,233 metres. Kuss had been part of the day's large breakaway but conserved energy while Ciccone battled for mountain classification points, eventually launching his decisive move on the final climb.

Ciccone's mountain raid falls short

Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek was the day's great animator, leading over four of the six classified climbs to seize the blue jersey as leader of the mountains classification. The Italian had been frustrated by Einer Rubio pipping him to points on the penultimate Passo Falzarego ascent and shot off angrily on the long descent, building a lead of over one minute with 10 kilometres remaining. However, his legs faded on the final climb to Alleghe, and he was caught and passed by Kuss, ultimately finishing third at 36 seconds.

“By the bottom of the climb, there was a gap of one minute, so I thought, 'Oh, it's over'. To be honest, I was a bit demotivated because I thought it was over, but I just tried to focus on doing the fastest climb possible. A nice win for me.”

Vingegaard firmly in control

Jonas Vingegaard finished fifth on the stage, 39 seconds behind his teammate, and never looked troubled as he marked closest rival Felix Gall. The Dane retains a commanding overall lead of four minutes and three seconds over the Austrian, with Australian Jai Hindley moving up to third overall at 5:04 after Thymen Arensman lost time. With only Saturday's mountain stage to Piancavallo and Sunday's procession in Rome remaining, Vingegaard is poised to win his first Giro d'Italia.

“This is for sure one of the highlights of my Giro. It's in the top three. The big goal will be to stay in the pink jersey after the end of the stage.”

Narvaez abandons after freak incident

Earlier on Friday, UAE Team Emirates rider Jhonatan Narvaez was forced to abandon the race. The team said the Ecuadorian had suffered a small crash on Thursday during the post-stage transfer back to the team bus, and the resulting discomfort was too severe to continue. Narvaez leaves the Giro with three stage victories to his name.