Tactics and power: Valgren triumphs in Andalo

A sharp, precise and perfectly timed move, launched right beneath the flamme rouge, allowed Michael Valgren to cross the line in Andalo victorious on Stage 17 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia. In truth, not quite with arms raised in celebration, but rather holding up his son’s green Poké Ball — a genuine lucky charm for the Dane.

As expected, it was the breakaway riders who fought for the stage win, in a contest that remained wide open until the very final metres. Second place once again went to Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), claiming his third runner-up finish of this Giro, while third place belonged to Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), who not only climbed back into the Top 10 of the general classification but also earned the distinction of becoming the oldest rider since Gino Bartali (1954) to finish on a Giro d’Italia stage podium.

A fierce Rubio and a defiant Caruso

After 17 stages of attacks and counter-attacks, fatigue in the peloton was clearly beginning to show, though that did not prevent a blistering opening hour raced at an average speed of 53.3 km/h. Between the Passo dei Tre Termini and the Cocca di Lodrino, a 29-man breakaway eventually took shape, featuring Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Jardi Christiaan Van der Lee, Michael Valgren (EF Education–EasyPost), Rémi Cavagna (Groupama–FDJ United), Enric Mas, Juanpe López, Einer Rubio, Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), Aleksandr Vlasov, Mick Van Dijke (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe), Gijs Leemreize, Frank Van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), Mattia Bais, Alessandro Tonelli (Polti VisitMalta), Igor Arrieta, Jhonatan Narváez, Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates–XRG), Niklas Larsen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), Tobias Bayer (Alpecin–PremierTech), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl–Trek), Simone Gualdi (Lotto Intermarché), Jan Hirt (NSN), David De La Cruz, Mark Donovan (Pinarello Q36.5), Gianmarco Garofoli, Fabio Van den Bossche (Soudal Quick-Step) and Florian Stork (Tudor). The Maglia Rosa group showed little interest in the move, leaving the stage win to be contested among the escapees.

Rémi Cavagna launched a solo move with 117 km remaining and stayed clear until 58 km from the finish, when the rest of the breakaway reeled him back in approaching the intermediate sprint in Roncone. There, Jhonatan Narváez took maximum points — enough to move the Ecuadorian back into the virtual Maglia Ciclamino. From that moment on, cohesion at the front completely disappeared, with repeated accelerations on the rolling roads towards Andalo further reducing the size of the lead group.

In the end, only eight riders remained at the front: Caruso, Valgren, López, Rubio, Vlasov, Garofoli, Arrieta and Leknessund. Caruso used all his experience, but on the climb towards the timed ascent of Andalo-Lever, the strongest legs appeared to belong to Valgren, and above all Rubio. The Colombian failed to shake off the Dane and, with 2 km to go, Caruso, Leknessund, Vlasov and Arrieta bridged back across. The Sicilian tried to anticipate the sprint, but the decisive move came from Valgren — a rider whose palmarès already includes an Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, an Amstel Gold Race, and a World Championship bronze medal — who stunned his rivals with a perfectly timed attack right beneath the flamme rouge.

This marks the second victory of the season for Valgren after his success in Mombaroccio at Tirreno Adriatico. And the Giro continues to be painted in Danish colours: across the 2025 and 2026 editions, Denmark has now collected 10 stage wins (4 for Mads Pedersen, 1 for Kasper Asgreen, 4 for Jonas Vingegaard, and 1 for Michael Valgren).

To check all the rankings after Stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia, CLICK HERE