If you’re like me – you let out a sigh of relief as the Giro d’Italia finally landed on Italian soil Tuesday, and the first day in Calabria delivered exactly what we needed: unexpected pressure, attacks, cracks in the sprinters, and a finale that no one saw coning. When the dust settled in Cosenza, it was Jhonatan Narváez who sprinted to victory after a selective finale, while Giulio Ciccone emerged as the new Maglia Rosa – his first ever after 10 years of trying.
Silva and his canine pal enjoyed his last day in Pink
A Stage That Could Go Anywhere
On paper, Stage 4 looked impossible to predict. The 138km route from Catanzaro to Cosenza featured only one categorized climb—the Cozzo Tuno (14.4km at 5.9%)—but it sat in exactly the right spot to create trouble. Too hard for the pure sprinters? Maybe. Hard enough for the GC men to test each other? Possibly.
Rollout from Catanzaro
In other words: you’d better watch to find out.
RCS Sez: The route
A short and fast stage, featuring a long – although uncomplicated – mid-stage climb. Starting in Catanzaro, the route reaches Lamezia Terme with no topographical impediments, and then continues along the Tyrrhenian coast (ss. 18) on wide and mildly undulating roads. Past San Lucido, the route goes over Cozzo Tunno (which connects to Passo della Crocetta da Paola on the summit). The climb is nearly 15 km in length, but the gradients are never excessive. After a long descent into the plain of the Crati river, the route continues slightly uphill all the way to the finish in Cosenza.
Final kilometres
The last 3 km are on wide urban roads, with some bends in the central section. The route continues, rising ever so slightly up to the bump of the bridge over the Crati river. A few sweeping bends then lead into the home straight (450 m, 3.7% gradient).
Breakaway Finally Gets Some Freedom
Unlike the Bulgarian stages, this time the breakaway had to fight for daylight. Eventually six riders escaped clear, including Warren Barguil, Niklas Larsen, Johan Jacobs and Darren Rafferty.
But they never got much room.
With Rafferty sitting closest on GC, XDS Astana wasn’t about to hand over the pink jersey for free, and the men of race leader Guillermo Silva kept the move tightly controlled all afternoon.
PEZ Take: This was one of those breakaways that exists mostly so television helicopters have something else to film.
Giro d’Italia 2026 Stage 4 Hilights video
Movistar Lights the Fuse
As the race hit the Cozzo Tuno climb, the mood changed fast.
Movistar smelled opportunity and drilled the pace for Orluis Aular, instantly detonating the peloton. One by one the sprinters disappeared out the back:
- Jonathan Milan
- Dylan Groenewegen
- Tobias Lund Andresen
- and even purple jersey holder Paul Magnier
Gone too? Pink jersey Silva himself.
The bunch was reduced to around forty riders by the summit, and suddenly the Giro had its first real taste of Italian racing chaos.
PEZ Take: Bulgaria was nervous survival. Italy is where this Giro actually starts.
Bernal Cracks… Then Returns
One of the biggest surprises on the climb was seeing Egan Bernal lose contact. The 2021 Giro winner looked completely cooked for a while before teammate Ben Turner paced him back on during the flatter run toward the finish. Derek Gee suffered a flat tire and was also dropped on the climb – but hooked up with the Bernal chase and made it back as well.
Meanwhile, bonus seconds became serious business.
At the Red Bull sprint, Jan Christen grabbed six bonus seconds ahead of Giulio Pellizzari and Ciccone snagging 3rd, with the Maglia Rosa suddenly very much up for grabs.
Christen Gambles, Narváez Delivers
The attacks dried up in the final kilometres—until Christen launched one last desperate move inside 2km to go. For a moment it looked dangerous, but the catch came just in time to set up a reduced-group sprint.
Aular opened things up from a long way out and looked strong, but he went just a little too early.
Narváez timed it perfectly.
The Ecuadorian champion surged past in the final hundred metres to give UAE Emirates XRG a badly-needed first win of the race after several difficult opening days.
Aular held on for second.
But the bigger prize went to Ciccone, whose aggressive riding and bonus seconds were enough to pull him into pink.
Giulio Ciccone earns his first Maglia Rosa in his 10th Giro
QUOTES
Speaking seconds after the finish, the stage winner Jhonatan Narvaez said: “This victory is really big for me. After my crash in Australia in January, I have spent three months training in Ecuador. I want to thank my wife, my family and my team who supported me in this difficult period. Obviously this win is also for my teammates who crashed in the first stages of the Giro. We have worked well for taking this stage. Jan [Christen] is a great guy, he was trying to take the Maglia Rosa today. He’s a young guy who needs to learn how to race. He did a great final and for me with him at the front it was just a question of waiting for the sprint. I took the corner really well. Then it was just about the legs in the last straight”.
PEZ Take
Now this looks and feel like the Giro we’ve all come to watch.
Selective climbs, tactical chaos, sprinters exploding, GC guys suddenly exposed, and an uphill drag race where timing mattered more than raw speed. And ket’s not forget those gorgeous Italian villages dotting la corsa.
Narváez gets the stage.
Ciccone gets pink.
And the Giro has finally woken up.
2026 Giro d’Italia Results
Giro d’Italia 2026 Overall Results after Stage 4
PEZ Giro d’Italia Bonus Reads
• Week 1 Stage by Stage Route Guide
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