Giro dell'Emilia 2026, Piganzoli's masterpiece

Davide Piganzoli wins the 2026 Giro dell'Emilia with a spectacular move in the final kilometers. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider beats Tom Pidcock and Oscar Onley to triumph at the finish line in Bologna.

Davide Piganzoli takes one of the most prestigious victories of his career. The Italian rider from Visma | Lease a Bike won the 2026 Giro dell'Emilia , at the end of a very tough race that was decided only in the final kilometers.

The Valtellina native found the right moment to surprise the favorites, moving 4.8 kilometers from the finish line and then managing to hold off the chasers' comeback until the finish line.

Behind him, Tom Pidcock once again finished second, while Oscar Onley completed the podium. Both finished just three seconds behind the winner.

Piganzoli surprises everyone in the finale

The race, 197.9 kilometres long from Ferrara to Bologna , was hard-fought from the very first stages.

Eight riders managed to form the day's breakaway, but the peloton kept the situation under control thanks mainly to the work of Visma | Lease a Bike and Pinarello-Q36.5.

The pace was very high: in the first hour of the race the average speed exceeded 50 km/h .

As the final circuit approached, the selection process became increasingly important and some of the most anticipated men entered the fray.

McNulty tries to attack in the rainbow jersey

Great attention was also paid to Brandon McNulty , in his first race in the world champion jersey he had won a few days earlier in Montreal.

The American tried to break the deadlock about 19 kilometers from the finish , but his acceleration was neutralized.

Matteo Jorgenson immediately followed , confirming the numerical strength of Visma | Lease a Bike among the leading group.

Several top riders remained at the front, while as the kilometres went by, riders such as Jhonatan Narváez, Lenny Martinez and Pello Bilbao lost contact.

Pidcock attacks, then Piganzoli arrives

With less than ten kilometers to go, the race finally exploded.

Jorgenson attempted to pull away, followed shortly after by Ben Healy 's acceleration . About nine kilometers from the finish, Tom Pidcock also set off, forced to spend a lot of time catching up with the riders ahead.

The British rider gradually managed to close the gap on the final climb, but was unable to make a definitive difference.

And it was precisely at that moment that Piganzoli played the decisive card .

The Italian overcame the most challenging part of the final stretch alongside the best riders and, taking advantage of a moment of hesitation among his opponents, accelerated with less than five kilometers to go.

A sharp attack, which allowed him to gain those few seconds that would later prove decisive.

Pidcock chases, but Piganzoli resists

Pidcock immediately tried to react, dragging the chasing group with him.

In the final kilometers, Piganzoli's margin became increasingly thin, but the Visma rider never stopped pushing.

In the final kilometer, victory was still in the balance, but the advantage accumulated by the Italian was enough.

Piganzoli thus crossed the finish line alone in 4h33'19", three seconds ahead of Pidcock and Onley.

A very prestigious victory for the 2002-born Italian and another demonstration of the depth of Visma | Lease a Bike, which also placed Ben Tulett in fourth place and Matteo Jorgenson in fifth .

Giro dell'Emilia 2026: finish line

1. Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4h33'19"
2. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) +3"
3. Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) +3"
4. Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike) +5"
5. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) +13"
6. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) +23"
7. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) +30"
8. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +38"
9. Michael Storer (Tudor) +45"
10. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +45"

Piganzoli thus achieved a very important success in one of the most prestigious Italian classics, beating opponents of the caliber of Pidcock, Onley, Jorgenson and the new world champion McNulty.

An important signal also in view of the upcoming events in the Italian calendar and, above all, of Il Lombardia .