With Jonas Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease a Bike team expected to take control of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday's mountain stage in the Val d'Aosta, the fight for the podium is set to inspire and ignite the most interesting race between now and Rome.
Vingegaard is only 33 seconds down on Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain-Victorious) but leads a group of GC podium contenders by at least 1:30, with 15 riders within six minutes.
They will all continue their own race within the race on Saturday, hoping to move up to the podium spots near Vingegaard, then be ready for the slight chance that the Dane might stumble on the road to Rome via the Swiss Alps, the Dolomites and the double climb of Piancavallo.
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Thymen Arensman (Netcompany Ineos) is the closest to Vingegaard and could prove his most dangerous rival in the mountains. The Dutch rider is far more confident in his ability after winning two stages at the 2025 Tour de France.
Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) is 2:17 down on Vingegaard in fifth but is also dangerous and likes to race aggressively when he is performing well in Grand Tours.
O'Connor highlighted how the early Italian summer heat could also be a factor. Temperatures of 30°C are forecast for the lower roads.
"I'm excited for it, and that's the main thing," O'Connor said on Friday.
"It's meant to be pretty hot and that will be a factor. It can do some damage. It hasn't been that hot so far in the Giro and then all of a sudden it will be in the early 30 degrees and another thing to think about.
"I like the heat, I'm good in it, otherwise I wouldn't have done well in the Vuelta a España a couple of years ago. We will see what happens."
Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) is just ahead of O'Connor at 1:57 and showed he could almost match Vingegaard on the early Giro climbs to Blockhaus and Corno alle Scale. The Australian lost a chunk of time in the Tuscan time trial but has the Grand Tour experience to mount a challenge.
"Saturday is going to be full gas racing all day," Gall suggested to Cyclingnews and the Cycling podcast.
"There's a lot of climbing, that's for sure. After every climb there will be less people in the bunch. It should suit me well, I think it'll be a big GC day."
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is sixth at less than three minutes, with a third Western Australian Michael Storer (Tudor) at 3:01. Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) is close to them, as is Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
Hindley and Pellizzari have been ill and so may fade away, creating more opportunities to move up the GC for other riders. 20-year-old Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost) is a rider to watch, as is 22-year-old French talent Mathys Rodel (Tudor). Eulálio could also finish in the top ten in Rome if he has anything left after his week in the maglia rosa.
The fight for the Giro podium and the top 10 on GC starts on Saturday with the 133km stage from Aosta to Pila, where Robert Millar won back in 1987 as Stephen Roche completed his infamous victory after attacking teammate Roberto Visentini. The stage includes five major climbs and over 4,000 metres of altitude gain in three different mountain and valley loops.
Lidl-Trek are hoping Gee-West can move up the GC with a consistent performance like he showed in 2025 when he emerged to finish fourth overall. The German super team need a result due to Jonathan Milan faltering in the sprints.
"I'm happy with the legs after the first couple of mountain stages but this is super different," Gee-West told Cyclingnews of the Val d'Aosta stage.
"It's a lot harder and includes a lot more mountains. It depends on what teams want to do but we could see it blow up. With Eulálio still in pink, someone might take it up early to maximise the time they can put into him."
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