Samwise Cycle Racing Newsletter
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Narváez Sprints to UAE Redemption in Cosenza as Ciccone Seizes Maglia Rosa
Jhonatan Narváez delivered a morale-lifting stage victory for UAE Team Emirates-XRG on stage four of the 2026 Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, May 12, powering up the uphill finish in Cosenza to beat the reduced peloton after Movistar shattered the pack on the 14-kilometre Cozzo Tunno climb. The Ecuadorian, who went down alongside four teammates in the brutal stage-two mass crash in Bulgaria, recovered to produce UAE’s first stage win of the race. Jan Christen finished second, while Giulio Ciccone snatched third place and crucial bonus seconds to carry the Lidl-Trek Italian into the Maglia Rosa for the first time in his career.
Sources: Cyclingnews, Cycling Up To Date
Ciccone Realises Childhood Dream of Wearing Pink at Giro d’Italia
Giulio Ciccone pulled on the Maglia Rosa after stage four of the 2026 Giro d’Italia on May 12, fulfilling a childhood ambition the 31-year-old Lidl-Trek climber had harboured since watching the race grow up in Abruzzo. The Italian seized the race lead via bonus seconds after finishing third in Cosenza, moving four seconds clear of Jan Christen and Florian Stork in the general classification. Ciccone entered the 2026 Corsa Rosa without the weight of outright GC leadership, which may have freed him to aggressively contest intermediate bonuses. He now leads the Giro as the race approaches its first genuine mountain stages in the south of Italy.
Sources: Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly
Sprint Duo Groves and De Lie Exit the Giro on Stage 4, Depleting Fast-Finish Field
Kaden Groves and Arnaud De Lie both abandoned the 2026 Giro d’Italia during stage four on May 12, removing two of the peloton’s fastest sprinters from the race on the same day. Groves, racing for Alpecin-Premier Tech, exited just 43 kilometres into the Catanzaro–Cosenza stage, still suffering from injuries sustained in the opening stage crash in Sofia, Bulgaria. His team described him as their best weapon for sprint finishes. De Lie, representing Lotto Intermarcé, was dropped on the Cozzo Tunno climb before later abandoning, having battled illness throughout his time at the race. The dual departure significantly changes the sprint dynamic for the remaining flat stages.
Sources: Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly
Kelderman Abandons Before Stage 4, Leaving Visma Short-Handed for Mountain Stages
Visma-Lease a Bike lost key support rider Wilco Kelderman before the start of stage four of the 2026 Giro d’Italia on May 12, with the experienced Dutch climber still suffering from injuries sustained in the stage-two mass crash in Bulgaria. Kelderman completed stages two and three despite his injuries but was unable to recover sufficiently to continue racing into Italy. His departure leaves GC favourite Jonas Vingegaard relying primarily on Sepp Kuss and Davide Piganzoli for climbing support in the pivotal mountain stages ahead. The team confirmed Kelderman would not start stage four in a social media post before the peloton left Catanzaro, acknowledging the lingering effects of his crash.
Sources: Cyclingnews
Netcompany Ineos and Bernal Rise to Third on GC as Crash Chaos Reshapes Race
Netcompany Ineos emerged as beneficiaries of the 2026 Giro d’Italia’s early crash carnage, with Egan Bernal sitting third in the general classification four seconds off the lead after stage four on May 12. Bernal and co-leader Thymen Arensman both avoided the two major pileups that ended the races of Adam Yates, Jay Vine, Marc Soler and several other GC rivals. The 2021 Giro champion, riding for the rebranded British WorldTour team, trails race leader Giulio Ciccone by just four seconds entering Wednesday’s first mountain stage. Ineos team member Ben Turner was diverted from a potential stage victory to assist Bernal on the Cozzo Tunno climb during stage four.
Sources: Cyclingnews
Visma Admit Missed Giro Opportunity as Vingegaard Fails to Take Stage 4 Bonus Seconds
Visma-Lease a Bike acknowledged on Tuesday that GC favourite Jonas Vingegaard failed to claim any bonus seconds at the finish of stage four of the 2026 Giro d’Italia on May 12, with the team noting it was unfortunate while insisting rider safety took precedence over sprinting for the line. Vingegaard, seeking to become only the third rider to win all three Grand Tours, arrived in Cosenza with the main group without gaining or losing time on his closest rivals. The double Tour de France champion sits outside the top five in the general classification, increasing pressure to establish time gaps during the upcoming mountain stages in the Apennines.
Sources: Cycling Up To Date, Cyclingnews
Ciccone Leads Compact GC Field by Six Seconds as Stage 5 Mountain Test Looms Over Potenza
The general classification of the 2026 Giro d’Italia stands extraordinarily tight after four stages, with Giulio Ciccone leading Jan Christen, Florian Stork and Egan Bernal by just four seconds and Thymen Arensman and Giulio Pellizzari a further two seconds back at six. GC favourite Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike sits further down the standings after failing to sprint for bonus seconds in Cosenza. The compressed field faces its first genuine mountain reckoning on Wednesday’s 203-kilometre stage five from Praia a Mare to Potenza, which includes the steep Montagna Grande di Viggiano, averaging 9.1 percent over 6.6 kilometres, located 50 kilometres from the finish.
Sources: Cyclingnews, Cycling Up To Date
General Classification
GC Top 5 — After Stage 4
1. Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) — Leader | Pink Jersey
2. Christen (UAE) — +0:04 | Young Rider
3. Stork (Tudor) — +0:04
4. Bernal (Netcompany Ineos) — +0:04
5. Arensman (Netcompany Ineos) — +0:06
Other Classifications
Stage 4 — Catanzaro to Cosenza
Stage Winner: Narváez (UAE)
Next: Stage 5 — Praia a Mare to Potenza (203 km)
Key climb: Montagna Grande di Viggiano (9.1% avg, 6.6 km)
Abandons to Date (10)
Yates, Vine, Soler, Buitrago, Vendrame,
Moschetti, Holter, Kelderman, Groves, De Lie
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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