Where does the GC battle stand after the Giro's first major mountain test?

Cor Vos

A week into the 2026 Giro d'Italia, the peloton tackled its first real high-mountain test, and as expected the GC hopefuls came to the fore on a windy ascent of the Blockhaus climb in Italy's Abruzzo region.

When the proverbial dust had settled on the Cat. 1 summit finish, it was hardly a surprise to see who stood atop the stage podium as pre-race and pre-stage favorite Jonas Vingegaard ascended to the stage 7 victory. Just the same, the way he got there, the riders in his wake, and especially the time gaps – or lack thereof – left plenty of room for discussion.

As Jayco-AlUla sports director Steve Cummings told Escape Collective after the stage: "Often you see [Vingegaard], when he attacks, just taking loads of time, but he attacked, had the punch, and then he didn't really take too much time out of everyone."

Giro d’Italia: Vingegaard conquers the Blockhaus to win stage 7Felix Gall is the only GC hopeful to finish within a minute of Jonas Vingegaard on the first major mountain test of the Giro d’Italia.Escape CollectiveDane Cash

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