2026 Giro d'Italia Stage 19 Results & Recap
Stage 19 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Sepp Kuss (TVL) became only the second American rider after Tyler Farrar to win stages at all three Grand Tours when he soloed to victory in the Giro's "queen stage" at Piani di Pezzè, above Alleghe in the Dolomites.
Kuss was in a small group that arrived at the foot of the final 5km climb a minute behind lone leader Giulio Ciccone (LTK), but the American erased that gap in just 3km and immediately went clear to finish 13 seconds ahead of Derek Gee-West (LTK), with Ciccone third.
The podium favorites came in on the heels of the Italian, Felix Gall (DCT) leading in Jonas Vingegaard (TVL), with Jai Hindley (RBH) close behind. As a result of third-placed Thymen Arensman (IGD) being dropped earlier on the climb, Hindley replaced the Dutchman on the bottom step of the podium behind Vingegaard and Gall.
With more than 5,000m of climbing and no fewer than 6 summits on the menu, it was always likely that Ciccone would be determined to get into the breakaway, which would enable him to chase points in the mountains competition to close on its leader, Vingegaard.
As a consequence, Lidl-Trek controlled the early action tightly on the flatlands before the climbs. Although a large break went clear before the first ascent, the Passo Duran, Ciccone was part of another big group that merged with it halfway up that fearsome pass.
Damiano Caruso (TBV) was in that group too, which triggered a reaction from some of his GC rivals in the peloton. Tudor set about moving Michael Storer (TUD) up towards his Italian rival, while Gee-West also hitched a ride.
Ciccone led over the Duran and the Coi climb, where Storer and Gee-West bridged up to the leaders. Having pushed on with Einer Rubio, Ciccone's charge in the mountains competition continued when he led over the Forcella Staulanza.
The front group had swelled again by the time it started up the Passo Giau, the Cima Coppi as the highest pass in this race. But it had thinned down to just 8 riders approaching the 2,236m summit, where Gee-West led out Ciccone for his fourth mountains win of the day, which moved him ahead of Vingegaard in that classification.
The Italian's run of success ended on the next summit, the Falzarego, where Rubio surprised him with a late attack, apparently in revenge for Gee-West depriving him of first place in the Red Bull KM sprint earlier on the climb.
Raging with anger at that perceived slight, Ciccone shot off on his own down the descent, opening up a gap of 1'10" when he reached the valley. It seemed enough of a cushion for the Italian to secure a famous win, but the super steep ramps of the final climb and Kuss's comparative freshness ultimately foiled him.
Back in the GC group, Afonso Eulálio (TBV) was the first big name to lose ground. As Decathlon pushed up the pace in their pursuit of Gee-West, Storer and Caruso, third-placed Arensman lost contact too. Race leader Vingegaard was untroubled, though, and couldn't have looked more delighted as he embraced stage-winner Kuss at the finish.
Get our full coverage of the Giro d'Italia and every race we cover with our mobile app! The apps have over 100 additional exclusive features, including our award-winning Time Machine feature that lets you pause/rewind/replay the entire app to sync with delayed race video, integrated Fantasy Cycling, push notifications, an integrated news feed, live GPS tracking, world-class commentary, and our animated interactive maps and profiles.
