Five climbs, 4,350m of elevation and a whole new look to the GC – how stage 14 at the Giro will explode the fight for pink

Five climbs, 4,350m of elevation and a whole new look to the GC – how stage 14 at the Giro will explode the fight for pink

Stage 14's summit finish to Pila is the Giro's first true Alpine examination. Afonso Eulálio's grip on pink looks fragile, and the compressed classification behind him means the podium and top 10 are all in play.

By Tim Bonville-Ginn · · 6 min read

Saturday's stage 14 from Aosta to Pila is the first major Alpine test of the 2026 Giro d'Italia, with the general classification tightly packed. Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) starts in the maglia rosa with a 33-second lead over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). The top 12 riders are separated by roughly two and a half minutes. By the end of the day, the whole outlook of the race will be very different.

The stage is 133km long with 4,350m of climbing across five categorised ascents and virtually no flat road. The riders tackle Saint-Barthélémy (15.8km at 6.5%, max 13%) almost immediately after the start in Aosta, descend to the Valpelline, climb to Doues, drop again, then grind over Lin Noir (7.4km at 7.9%) and Verrogne (5.6km at 6.9%) before the final ascent to Pila: 16.5km at 7.1% with a maximum gradient of 11%. Pila returns to the Giro after more than 30 years; Udo Bölts was a stage winner there when the Giro last visited in 1992.

The pure climbers will be rubbing their hands together with glee at the prospect of this stage while other riders such as the sprinters and rouleurs will be hoping to just make the time cut. The day has one very obvious conclusion. Vingegaard to take the prestigious 'Maglia e Tappa' (jersey and stage). With the Danish star just 33 seconds back on Eulálio it is surely the day he finally takes pink before a flat day in Milan and the final rest day before a brutal final week.

Results

May 22

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Alberto Bettiol
XDS ASTANA TEAM3:51:33
🥈
Andreas Leknessund
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:26
🥉
Jasper Stuyven
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:44
4
Michael Valgren
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:44
5
Mark Jamie Donovan
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:44
6
Joshua Kench
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:44
7
Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+1:33
8
Francesco Busatto
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:35
9
Markus Hoelgaard
UNO-X MOBILITY+1:35
10
Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+1:35
11
Lawrence Warbasse
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:35
12
Mirco Maestri
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+1:48
13
Toon Aerts
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:48
14
Axel Huens
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+3:45
15
Johan Jacobs
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+4:13
16
Damiano Caruso
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+13:06
17
Afonso Eulálio
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+13:06
18
Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
NETCOMPANY INEOS+13:06
19
Thymen Arensman
NETCOMPANY INEOS+13:06
20
Egan Arley Bernal Gomez
NETCOMPANY INEOS+13:06
21
Jonas Vingegaard Hansen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+13:06
22
Davide Piganzoli
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+13:06
23
Sepp Kuss
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+13:06
24
Felix Gall
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+13:06
25
Gregor Mühlberger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+13:06
26
Callum Scotson
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+13:06
27
Giulio Pellizzari
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+13:06
28
Johannes Staune-Mittet
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+13:06
29
Giovanni Aleotti
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+13:06
30
Jai Hindley
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+13:06
31
Ben Zwiehoff
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+13:06
32
David de la Cruz Melgarejo
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+13:06
33
Ben Alexander O'Connor
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+13:06
34
Alan Hatherly
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+13:06
35
Nickolas Zukowsky
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+13:06
36
Markel Beloki Fernandez
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+13:06
37
Christopher Harper
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+13:06
38
Igor Arrieta Lizarraga
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+13:06
39
Harold Martin Lopez Granizo
XDS ASTANA TEAM+13:06
40
Mathys Rondel
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+13:06
41
William Barta
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+13:06
42
Derek Gee
LIDL-TREK+13:06
43
Jan Hirt
NSN CYCLING TEAM+13:06
44
Nikita Tsvetkov
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+13:06
45
Florian Stork
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+13:06
46
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+13:06
47
Rémy Rochas
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+13:06
48
Johannes Kulset
UNO-X MOBILITY+13:06
49
Michael Storer
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+13:06
50
Alessandro Tonelli
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+13:06
51
Ludovico Crescioli
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+13:06
52
Koen Bouwman
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+13:06
53
Edoardo Zambanini
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+14:42
54
Filippo Ganna
NETCOMPANY INEOS+16:50
55
Matteo Sobrero
LIDL-TREK+16:52
56
Gianni Moscon
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+16:52
57
Arjen Livyns
XDS ASTANA TEAM+16:52
58
Magnus Sheffield
NETCOMPANY INEOS+17:36
59
Fredrik Dversnes
UNO-X MOBILITY+17:36
60
Filippo Turconi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+17:36
61
Cyril Barthe
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+17:36
62
Brieuc Rolland
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+17:36
63
Oliver Naesen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+17:36
64
Filippo Zana
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+17:36
65
Andrea Raccagni Noviero
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+17:36
66
Jonas Rutsch
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+19:31
67
Tobias Bayer
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+19:31
68
Sean Flynn
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+19:31
69
Victor Campenaerts
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+19:31
70
Alec Segaert
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+19:31
71
Pascal Ackermann
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+19:31
72
Luca Paletti
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+19:31
73
Mick van Dijke
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+19:31
74
Aleksandr Vlasov
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+19:31
75
Maximilian Richard Walscheid
LIDL-TREK+19:31
76
Einer Augusto Rubio Reyes
MOVISTAR TEAM+19:31
77
Christopher Hamilton
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+19:31
78
Christopher Jensen
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+19:31
79
Robert Donaldson
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+19:31
80
Nicholas Schultz
NSN CYCLING TEAM+19:31
81
James Shaw
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+19:31
82
Wouter Poels
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+19:31
83
Diego Ulissi
XDS ASTANA TEAM+19:31
84
Christian Scaroni
XDS ASTANA TEAM+19:31
85
Thomas Pesenti
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+19:31
86
Lorenzo Milesi
MOVISTAR TEAM+19:31
87
Guillermo Thomas Silva Coussan
XDS ASTANA TEAM+19:31
88
Alessandro Pinarello
NSN CYCLING TEAM+19:31
89
Gianmarco Garofoli
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+19:31
90
Jan Christen
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+19:31
91
Lorenzo Rota
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+19:31
92
Corbin John Strong
NSN CYCLING TEAM+19:31
93
Giulio Ciccone
LIDL-TREK+19:31
94
Dion Allan Smith
NSN CYCLING TEAM+19:31
95
Jonas Geens
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+19:31
96
António Tomas Morgado
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+19:31
97
Ivan Garcia Cortina
MOVISTAR TEAM+19:31
98
Bart Lemmen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+19:31
99
Nelson Oliveira
MOVISTAR TEAM+19:31
100
David Gonzalez Lopez
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+19:31
101
Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria
MOVISTAR TEAM+19:31
102
Sakarias Koller Løland
UNO-X MOBILITY+19:31
103
Tord Gudmestad
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+19:31
104
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
LIDL-TREK+19:31
105
Ben Turner
NETCOMPANY INEOS+21:34
106
Jack Leonard Haig
NETCOMPANY INEOS+21:34
107
Robin Froidevaux
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+21:34
108
Rémi Cavagna
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+21:56
109
Fabian Lienhard
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+21:56
110
Enrico Zanoncello
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+21:56
111
Jhonatan Narvaez Prado
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+21:56
112
Mattia Bais
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+21:56
113
Jefferson Cepeda Ortiz
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+21:56
114
Paul Penhoet
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+21:56
115
Jensen Plowright
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+21:56
116
Ryan William Mullen
NSN CYCLING TEAM+21:56
117
Ethan Kane Vernon
NSN CYCLING TEAM+21:56
118
Robert Stannard
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+21:56
119
Mathijs Paasschens
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+21:56
120
Vicente Rojas Naranjo
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+21:56
121
Rasmus Pedersen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+21:56
122
Warren Barguil
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+21:56
123
Tobias Lund Andresen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+21:56
124
Giovanni Lonardi
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+21:56
125
Andréa Mifsud
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+21:56
126
Luca Vergallito
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+21:56
127
Juan Pedro Lopez Perez
MOVISTAR TEAM+21:56
128
Enric Mas Nicolau
MOVISTAR TEAM+21:56
129
Tim Rex
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+21:56
130
Lukáš Kubiš
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+21:56
131
Fran Miholjević
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+21:56
132
Johan Price Pejtersen
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+21:56
133
Fabio van den Bossche
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+21:56
134
Timo Kielich
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+21:56
135
Ayco Bastiaens
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+21:56
136
Manuele Tarozzi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+21:56
137
Dylan Groenewegen
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+21:56
138
Elmar Reinders
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+21:56
139
Martin Marcellusi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+21:56
140
Filippo Magli
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+21:56
141
Casper Cornelis van Uden
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+21:56
142
Tim Naberman
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+21:56
143
Madis Mihkels
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+21:56
144
Darren Rafferty
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+21:56
145
Matyáš Kopecký
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+21:56
146
Connor Swift
NETCOMPANY INEOS+21:56
147
Nico Denz
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+21:56
148
Niklas Larsen
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+21:56
149
Tim Torn Teutenberg
LIDL-TREK+21:56
150
Luca Mozzato
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+21:56
151
Jonathan Milan
LIDL-TREK+21:56
152
Paul Magnier
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+21:56
153
Dries van Gestel
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+21:56
154
Matteo Malucelli
XDS ASTANA TEAM+21:56
155
Simone Consonni
LIDL-TREK+21:56
156
Hartthijs de Vries
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+21:56
157
Tomas Kopecký
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+21:56
158
Frank van den Broek
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+21:56
159
Gijs Leemreize
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+21:56
160
Simone Gualdi
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+21:56

However, it won't be easy for Vingegaard. The series of tough climbs are perfect to tempt other GC stars out of the peloton who also have desires to go for the biggest prize.

That said, Vingegaard's Visma | Lease a Bike teammates will keep the pace high and the gaps minimal for the final 17km ascent to Pila where he can put in a devastating attack and blow the race wide open with his rivals fighting for the minor places.

The first climb of Saint-Barthélémy will blow the race open as riders lower down the GC fight will be looking to move up. After that, if it has settled down, I imagine Visma will come to the front to control things and set a strong tempo over the middle climbs before Sepp Kuss and Davide Piganzoli rip the race apart on the final climb with Vingegaard dealing the final blow into the final 5km or so.

Related - Giro d'Italia 2026 stage guide

Eulálio's task is to limit his losses. Matching Vingegaard on the final climb is less important than keeping the damage manageable before the race moves on. But the profile offers few places to recover and the accumulated climbing load makes bluffing almost impossible. On a day like this, 33 seconds can disappear inside the final 5km.

How stage 14 can reshape the classification

The fight for pink is the headline, but the wider GC battle underneath it may prove just as volatile. Third to tenth are tightly compressed, and several riders have clear reasons to attack.

Stage 14 key details

Aosta to Pila (Gressan) - 133km, 4,350m elevation gain

Velora
Detail
Value
Climb categories
Climb points
Date
Distance
Elevation gain
Estimated climb times
Estimated speed
Key climbs
Race window
Route
Stage
Stage type
Tune in
Why watch

Thymen Arensman (Netcompany Ineos) sits third at 2:03 and owes much of that position to strong time-trialling in stage 10. The Alps will test whether he can defend those gains on terrain that favours pure climbers. That said, he showed on the climb of Corno delle Scale that he is coming into great climbing form as well. Maybe he will be right up there with Vingegaard.

Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), fourth at 2:30, lost significant time in that same time trial and is better suited to a day like this. If Gall rides to his mountain ability, the podium order could flip. His main issue is descending. Gall is easily the best climber behind Vingegaard. He has shown he can almost match the Dane on Blockhaus and Corno delle Scale already.

But, if teams like Netcompany-Ineos, Bahrain Victorious, Jayco-AlUla, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Tudor get involved on pushing the pace on the descents then the Austrian could find himself in a spot of bother. He saw his podium chances slip away at the Volta a Catalunya when Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) set a strong tempo and distanced Gall who eventually finished sixth in GC.

Behind them, it is what has become known as the 'WA Cup' as Ben O'Connor (Jayco-AlUla) at 2:50, Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) at 3:12, Michael Storer (Tudor) at 3:34 all come from the Western Australia city of Perth. Behind them, a dangerman in Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) at 3:42. If someone like Eulálio has a bad day, all these guys could potentially be right in the fight for podium places.

Stage 14 stage profile - RCS

Then there's the breakaway potential – riders who may look at the first climb of the day to take advantage and go into the early break. With just 133km of racing on the menu, it invites the aggressive to make the most of the day and their form. Riders such as Egan Bernal, Jan Hirt, David De La Cruz, Igor Arrieta and Johannes Kulset, have every incentive to go early and ride hard on the front. The race has already shown how you can reap great rewards from going into the early break. Eulálio and Arrieta are perfect examples of that. If these riders do not try and attack on the first climb or even at all then, if they are not ill or injured, I don't know what their tactics are.

Stage 14 is harder, and the GC teams will care far more about control on the road to Pila. But an ambitious break complicates that control. If Bahrain Victorious has to chase while also protecting Eulálio and Visma-Lease a Bike waits to attack, the gap management on the middle climbs becomes messy. That could leave space for dangerous riders to gain time up the road while the favourites watch each other on Pila.

Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 21/05/2026 - Cycling - 2026 Giro d'Italia - Stage 12 - Imperia to Novi Ligure -

After stage 13, Eulálio told reporters on Cycling Pro Net's YouTube channel that tomorrow is a "super hard day." with the profile proving daunting. "I hope I have good legs tomorrow for a big fight." He continued.

The pink jersey continued his usual tone about Vingegaard saying that "Jonas doesn't need to do a big attack. Jonas is Jonas and I think the only rider that can beat him is Pogačar and Pogačar is not here." He said. "We just follow him and when he goes fast we drop and we fight behind him."

When asked if he would go on the attack, Vingegaard told reporters: "We will see how the legs are but, of course, if I feel good it will be nice to go for it."

Ominous words. By early evening on Saturday, the maglia rosa, the podium hierarchy and the viability of at least half the current top 10 should all be clearer. This is the stage this Giro has been building toward.

Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com

Velora newsletter

Never miss a story

The biggest cycling stories, tech insight and race analysis — twice a week, free.

Tim Bonville-Ginn headshot

Tim Bonville-Ginn

Pro cycling contributor

Tim Bonville-Ginn is a freelance writer who has worked in cycling for well over a decade with his articles being featured across publications such as Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Cyclist, Rouleur, Eurosport, Road cc, Domestique, and more.

As well as writing, Tim has worked as a social media and press manager for professional teams Human Powered Health, Global 6, and Saint Piran across Europe as well as commentating on races such as the African Continental Championships, Tour de Feminin and multiple rounds of the British road and circuit series for Golazo and Monument Cycling.

Expertise:Racing