PEZ Race Report: The Giro d’Italia finally reached the high mountains — and Jonas Vingegaard wasted no time reminding everyone who the biggest favorite really is. On the brutal slopes of Blockhaus, the Dane attacked with authority, dropped Giulio Pellizzari and Felix Gall, and soloed to a commanding Stage 7 victory after 244 hard kilometers from Formia. While Afonso Eulálio managed to cling to the maglia rosa, the Giro’s first true summit finish delivered the first serious shake-up in the general classification.
Portuguese revelation Afonso Eulálio surrendered just under three minutes but clung to the maglia rosa, surviving the Giro’s first mountain reckoning with his overall lead intact — barely.
After a grinding 244-kilometer haul from Formia to Blockhaus, the race finally showed its teeth. The brutal final climb — 13.6 kilometers at an unforgiving 8.4% — provided the first genuine opportunity for the Giro favorites to stop bluffing and put their cards squarely on the table.
The Route
This queen stage across the Apennines is the longest of the Giro. Starting along the coast of southern Lazio, the route passes Sperlonga and Gaeta, then Formia again, and heads north. Past Venafro, a fast-flow road leads through Rionero Sannitico and Castel di Sangro. Next on the route are ascents to Roccaraso (awarding KOM points) and to Passo di San Leonardo, followed by a lengthy descent. The final climb (13 km) begins in Roccamorice.
Final Kilometres
The last 13 km go up steadily on narrowed roadway, with several hairpins. Gradients are over 9% for almost 10 km, with peaks reaching as high as 14%. There is a very short counter-sloping stretch 500 m before the finish. The home straight (200 m long, on 6 m wide tarmac) has an uphill gradient of approx. 8%.
Early Escape Allowed Some Rope
The opening hours looked familiar: a breakaway slipped clear while the peloton settled into survival mode. This time it was Jonathan Milan, Jardi van der Lee, Tim Naberman, Nickolas Zukowsky and Diego Pablo Sevilla who earned themselves a day in front as the bunch rolled steadily toward the mountains at a surprisingly civilized pace.
The five escapees worked smoothly together but never built more than a six-minute cushion. On the penultimate climb to Roccaraso, with under 80 kilometers remaining, Milan waved goodbye after cleaning up at the intermediate sprint — a timely haul of points that thrusts him firmly back into contention for the ciclamino jersey.
That left four riders up the road, though their advantage steadily melted thanks to the relentless work of Tim Rex and Timo Kielich, clearly tasked with delivering Vingegaard to the foot of Blockhaus in prime position. By the base of the final climb, only Van der Lee, Zukowsky and Sevilla remained clear, holding a fading lead of around three minutes.
The Break Fights, But Blockhaus Waits for No One
With the peloton looming, Zukowsky decided to launch solo as the climb began. Sevilla cracked quickly, while Van der Lee briefly looked beaten before digging deep and clawing his way back to the Canadian’s wheel with 11 kilometers still to race.
The pair stubbornly pressed on together for several kilometers, but behind them the real race was beginning. Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe took command of the favorites’ group and steadily turned the screws. The gap evaporated rapidly and the inevitable attacks began to feel imminent.
Favorites Explode as Vingegaard Pulls the Trigger
Curiously, the expected fireworks took a little time to ignite — though casualties began piling up first.
Igor Arrieta and Jan Christen were among the earliest GC hopefuls to crack, followed by bigger names as the pace sharpened. Egan Bernal, Enric Mas and Derek Gee-West all slipped backward under the pressure as Davide Piganzoli drove the tempo inside the final 6.5 kilometers, finally sweeping up the brave remnants of Van der Lee and Zukowsky.
Then came trouble for pink jersey holder Eulálio.
With 5.5 kilometers remaining, the Portuguese rider finally cracked as the lead group dwindled to barely ten riders. That was the signal Vingegaard had been waiting for.
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader surged clear with authority. Initially, only Felix Gall and the highly impressive Giulio Pellizzari could respond, but even they lasted less than a kilometer before the elastic snapped.
And just like that, Vingegaard was gone.
The Dane powered through the final four kilometers alone, his lead quickly stretching beyond 30 seconds over Gall and Pellizzari, while nearly a minute separated him from a chasing group containing Ben O’Connor and Jai Hindley. Further back, Thymen Arensman fought grimly in sixth position, trying desperately to limit the damage.
Gall Limits the Damage, Pellizzari Pays the Price
If anyone emerged from Blockhaus with their reputation enhanced besides Vingegaard, it was Felix Gall. The Austrian rode a measured, impressive climb and managed to keep the deficit to just 15 seconds at the line — a strong statement on the Giro’s first summit finish.
Pellizzari, however, cracked late. The young Italian looked capable of matching Vingegaard for a moment, but faded badly in the closing kilometers and was eventually reeled in by O’Connor and Hindley, who crossed the line just over a minute behind the stage winner.
Arensman salvaged a respectable top-ten finish on the day, coming home at 1:44. The Dutchman limited his losses to riders like O’Connor, Hindley and Pellizzari, but the damage to Vingegaard — and increasingly Gall — already feels significant.
One mountain stage down, and the Giro suddenly has a very familiar look about it: Jonas Vingegaard in command, everyone else scrambling to respond.
Fun Facts
- On May 15, 1932, the first non-Italian wore the Maglia Rosa: German Herman Buse, in Udine. The jersey had been introduced the year before, but only Italians had worn it up to that point.
- On May 15, 2010, world champion Cadel Evans took his only Giro stage win on the gravel roads of Montalcino.
- Formia is a start location for the third time after Formia – Roma in 1926 (Alfredo Binda) and Formia – Pompeii in 1974 (Patrick Sercu).
- Blockhaus makes its 8th appearance in the Giro: in all cases it has always been a stage finish.
- These are the riders first at the summit: Eddy Merckx (1967); Franco Bitossi (1968); José Manuel Fuente (1972); Moreno Argentin (1984); Franco Pellizotti (2009); Nairo Quintana (2017); Jai Hindley (2022).
- 120th stage finish in Abruzzo, continuously present at the Giro since 2016. Last year’s finish in Abruzzo was in Tagliacozzo, won by Juan Ayuso.
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