The first full week of the Giro d'Italia has finally come to a close, and while Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) is in a relatively commanding position as was expected of the two-time Tour de France winner and reigning Vuelta a España champion, the rest of the general classification picture isn't exactly what it was expected to be – which is playing into his hands.
Vingegaard won for the second time on Sunday's stage 9, but neither his team nor he was the animator. That was a role instead played by Felix Gall, the impressive Austrian who has continued to show he is at career-best form at this Giro, and his Decathlon CMA CGM teammates, who kept the dangerous breakaway within striking distance before the Corno alle Scale summit finish.
Gall is not known for being an attacker, but knowing that the time trial is coming on stage 10 – a day on which he will certainly lose time to his rivals – Decathlon decided to strike while the iron was hot. The side effect of this, however, is that Visma and Vingegaard's job becomes even easier.
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Vingegaard was far and away the best climber on paper set to start this Giro, which has proved to be the case whenever the road has gone uphill since the start in Bulgaria last week, but he's hardly been put under any stress so far. And that is perhaps exposing the truth that no one really thought they could ever match him.
Decathlon tried what they could today, but after Gall attacked 2.5km from the line with gritted teeth and his elbows splayed out as he tried to maximise gains over the likes of Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley, Vingegaard never looked in trouble.
The Dane was the only rider to follow Gall, but knowing full well that the Decathlon rider couldn't let up for a single moment if he wanted to extract the maximum out of his attack, Vingegaard could simply refuse to take a turn until he knew the stage win was all-but certain.
That point came at 900 metres to go, when Vingegaard easily surged out of the saddle to win the stage and left the Austrian behind, the Dane having wasted none of his own energy, nor that of any of his six remaining teammates en route to the line. Young Italian Visma climber Davide Piganzoli finishing third on the stage highlighted that, and Sepp Kuss was eighth, too.
So while he may not yet have control of the pink jersey, with Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) impressing in his staunch defence, make no mistake that Vingegaard and Visma are in total control. While of course he has on the road to two mountaintop finishes, visibly, Vingegaard looks like he's barely got out of second gear based on his breathing and ease with which he kissed his handlebars three times as he crossed the finish line – once for his wife and twice for his two children.
He only has a 30-second lead over Gall heading into the first day, and still has 2:24 to make up on Eulálio with one mountain day in week two and three crushingly-brutal stages to come in the third week. He will surely make massive gains on both of them on the next race day.
Not only is Vingegaard the strongest climber at the 2026 Giro, but he's also the best GC rider at time trialling present in Italy, so the 42km flat day from Viareggio to Mass on Tuesday will only see him come close to pink. Gall will be put on a big gap, and while Eulálio may hold onto pink, his staying more than a minute overall in front of Vingegaard would be a huge surprise on stage 10.
Vingegaard said winning the Giro would mean a "complete career" for him, and after nine days and only two mountaintop finishes, it's hard to say anything but that he's well on the road to doing so, and becoming just the eighth man in history to win all three Grand Tours. Gall was impressive once again, but a crash or illness remains his biggest potential obstacles to the pink jersey and Trofeo Senza Fine in Rome.
Giulio Pellizzari the big loser at close of the first week
With Gall emerging as the clear second-best climber, but Eulálio holding firm in the overall lead, it means the GC picture and race for the podium have taken a real turn from what was projected pre-race.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Giulio Pellizzari started the Giro as the second favourite, but his race took a huge hit on stage 9 as he was dropped with 3.3km and the hardest section of the final climb remaining, eventually losing 1:38 to Vingegaard and 1:22 to Gall once bonus seconds were factored in.
His team have posted to social media saying that his performance came in spite of stomach problems, which would explain why he was well away from his best and what he showed on Blockhaus, but even still, he dropped three places overall and now has 2:51 to make up on Vingegaard and 2:16 on Gall.
The third week will still decide this race, and the time trial will also play a huge role, but for now, Pellizzari is not living up to the massive hype which surrounded him for his home race after winning the Tour of the Alps in April.
His co-leader Hindley was closer in the fight, but he, too, was well dropped by Gall and Ineos' Thymen Aresman. The former winner did move up to fourth overall, but dropped to more than a minute and a half behind Gall overall, so he will need to find his previous best if he wants to really challenge for the second spot.
As stated, Arensman is beginning to come into his own as Ineos clear top GC rider ahead of Egan Bernal, and as a typically slow Grand Tour starter and top time trial rider, his position overall is only going to look better by the end of the stage 10 ITT and the second week. He's never finished on the podium of a GT before, but that looks very possible for the Dutchman here.
The other important factor is how well Eulálio is hanging onto pink at each mountain test he faces. He was a brilliant fifth on the ninth stage, and gained time on most of the riders who will be challenging him for the top five and even podium – which looks possible now.
The young Portuguese rider still has a 2:24 buffer to Vingegaard before the second week, with most of the remaining riders in the top 10 sitting more than 4:30 behind him. Bahrain lost their leader, Santiago Buitrago, on day two, but Eulálio is proving to be this year's Isaac del Toro so far – with the experience of former Giro runner-up Damiano Caruso to guide him, Bahrain will be confident they can execute a top finish now.
Diesel-engined Derek Gee-West is also starting to find his best legs, and he's no stranger to a late surge in the third week. He's also not out of the podium battle, but the same can be said of Mathys Rondel, the young Frenchman on Tudor who was seventh today and closes out the first week in seventh overall.
It's been a surprising week for the GC contenders at this year's Giro d'Italia, that is, for everyone except Vingegaard, and with 12 stages still to be raced and many big mountains left to tackle, it could well all be turned on its head several times before Rome. The only variable which seems to be stable, for now, is Vingegaard and Visma, with a maglia rosa being added to his two maillots jaune and one maglia rojo looking like the most likely end result.
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