After stage 8 was shortened, the overall battle at the Giro d'Italia came down to the final stage. Attacks flew on the first climb, a category 1 ascent that started with 99 km to go, and a group of general classification favourites formed. This group would turn into clusters of riders, and at first, Demi Vollering was off the back of a strong group of three, but the FDJ United-Suez rider would, incredibly, bridge to the front of the race and claim the GC from Anna van der Breggen.
The overnight leader dropped to third overall with a deficit of 1:37, as Canyon-SRAM's Antonia Niedermaier moved into second, 35 seconds down, after finishing third on the day.
"We did it. I can still not believe it," Vollering said after the race. "I only dared to dream of it when we had two minutes. With 20 km to go, I just hoped to make it to the finish line. It gave me wings today to have the thought that it was possible.
"Of course, I dream of the Tour de France, but I really dreamed of this one. I know how easy it is to lose a Grand Tour."
Reigning Giro champion Elisa Longo Borghini ended up winning the stage after being part of the original attack of three that went clear with 84 km to go. She outsprinted Niamh Fisher-Black of Lidl-Trek, who launched first and held on for second. Niedermaier finished third as Vollering raised her arms across the line just behind the top three.
Van der Breggen finished 2:20 behind Vollering for sixth on the stage, with Femke de Vries (Visma-Lease a Bike) for company.
[race_result id=9064 stage_id=90182 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]
[race_result id=9064 stage_id=90182 count=5 gc=5 year=2026]
How it happened
- The final category 1 climb of the Giro was set for the first third of the stage, which meant that the minor breakaway that managed to clip away was brought back with 116 km still remaining in the stage, well before the climb started.
- Into the base of the climb, FDJ United-Suez set the pace, and with 95 km to go, it was clear why: Vollering made her move with half of the Montoso ascent remaining. Van der Breggen and Longo Borghini responded, along with eight of the other top favourites: Niedermaier, Holmgren, De Vries, and more.
- The next attack came with 85 km to go from Niedermaier. She was marked by Longo Borghini who had a personal interest in winning the stage. The course on stage 9 passed through the hometown of her husband, Jacopo Mosca, so she was keen to make the stage more exciting. Niamh Fisher-Black, Mosca's teammate at Lidl-Trek, joined Longo Borghini and Niedermaier on their mission.
- The move caused a bit of chaos in the bunch behind, as De Vries tried to follow, Dickson next, and then Holmgren was dropped and left hovering behind the rest of the GC contenders.
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