Coppi e Bartali: Axel Laurance captures second stage to move into overall lead with one day remaining

2026 Coppi e Bartali: Axel Laurance claims stage 4, and the lead (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers) secured another victory on stage 4 at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, moving back into the overall race lead ahead of the final day of racing on Sunday.

The Frenchman was part of a reduced peloton that barrelled into the finishing circuit of the stage and surged on the uphill drag to the finish line, outpacing runner-up and overnight leader Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and third-placed Riccardo Lorello (S.C. Padovani Polo Cherry Bank) in Valdobbiadene.

Laurance, who won the opening stage in Barolo, has moved back into the overall race lead ahead of the final day's 165.5km from Cormons to Gemona del Friuli. He now leads the race by two seconds ahead of Schmid and 10 seconds ahead of Tommaso Dati (Team UKYO).

How it unfolded

The fourth and penultimate stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali offered the field a 159.6km route from Ponte di Piave to Valdobbiadene.

The route was relatively flat for the first 100km and then hit the final two main ascents of the day over Rolle (2.2km at 3.2%) and Combai (3.1km at 5%), before reaching the final circuit at the short finish climb.

Schmid started the day in the leader's jersey, having taken it off the back of Filippo D'Aiuto (General Store-Essegibi-F.Lli Curia) on the previous stage 3 into Iseo. Tommaso Dati (Team UKYO), who won stage 3, sat in second place overall, just two seconds behind, while stage 1 winner Laurance slipped to third, also two seconds down.

A series of moves along the flatter sections at the start of the stage led to an early breakaway that included Filippo Agostinacchio (EF Education-EasyPost-Oatly) and Emanuele Ansaloni (Team Technipes #inEmiliaRomagna Caffè Borbone), along with Matteo Spreafico (Mg.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente).

The trio gained nearly three minutes on the peloton, but with the peloton, led by Ineos Grenadiers and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, launching a full chase behind, the gap dropped to 30 seconds before the start of the last two categorized climbs and into the final circuit.

Spreafico was the first rider to be distanced from the breakaway. However, Agostinacchio and Ansaloni still held a slim 18-second gap halfway up the climb leading into the first passage of the finish line in Valdobbiadene.

The two riders crested the climb but were ultimately caught on the descent with 14km remaining.

There were a series of new attacks from Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling, Polti VisitMalta, and EF Education-EasyPost. However, the reduced field was all together inside one kilometre to go on the uphill drag to the finish line, where Laurance claimed his second victory of the five-day race.

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Kirsten Frattini has been the Editor of Cyclingnews since December 2025, overseeing editorial operations and output across the brand and delivering quality, engaging content.

She manages global budgets, racing & events, production scheduling, and contributor commissions, collaborating across content sections and teams in the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia to ensure audience and subscription growth across the brand.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

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