Giro d’Italia Stage 13: Bettiol Solos, Vingegaard Braces for the Alps

Alberto Bettiol gave the Giro d’Italia a blast from the past with victory Friday in stage 13 as the pack is already looking at the monster climbs looming on the horizon high in the Italian Alps this weekend.

Friday served up a textbook old-school transition stage, and XDS-Astana’s Bettiol delivered a master class by attacking late on the final climb to deny Norwegian champion Andreas Leknessund before diving solo into Verbania.

In his first win since 2024, the 32-year-old dispatched Leknessund, with Jasper Stuyven kicking to third in the sprint for the reduced chase group.

“To win like this is something I’ll bring with me forever,” said Bettiol, whose girlfriend lives in the area. “It doesn’t matter if I win only every two years. If I have to wait for two years for a win like this one, I’m fine with it.

“I’m happy to finally win for XDS Astana because Alexander Vinokurov believed in me two years ago. He really wanted me in the team. My teammates have done an amazing job since the start of the Giro. I’m happy to be part of this.”

Jonas Vingegaard and the other GC contenders were firmly in siesta mode more than 13 minutes back across the rolling roads of northern Italy.

There were no major shakeups in the top 10. Afonso Eulálio carries the maglia rosa into Saturday’s tappone high in the Alps.

Whether he has it again at day’s end remains to be seen.

How it happened

The former Tour of Flanders winner won the first battle of the day to ride into a 15-man move that finally pulled clear. Among the escapees was American pro Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling).

With no GC implications and the sprint teams letting this one ride away, the peloton seemed content to let the breakaway have this one.

The finale came alive on the final ascent with a flurry of attacks. Leknessund punched over the top and briefly looked headed for victory.

But Bettiol, who said he’s trained on the local roads, had the answer, and bridged across to the Norwegian, attacked again near the summit, and posted a fearless descent into Verbania.

The Italian was emotional when recounting how much the victory meant to him.

“I don’t win much but I’ve won the most beautiful race in the world, the Tour of Flanders, I’ve won the oldest race in the world, Milano-Torino, I’ve won two stages in the most beautiful stage race, the Giro d’Italia, I’ve won the national championship in my hometown,” Bettiol said. “There are riders who have won billions of races but not a single monument.

“Moreover, I’ve won in life because I got the support of my family since I took up cycling and I’ve met incredible people in the cycling community. I’ve dedicated my victory to a former coach of mine who passed away recently. Luckily, I managed to speak with him before the Giro. I wanted to win today because of all the people who wanted to see me winning here in Verbania, the home of my girlfriend’s family.”

Eulálio, who’s held pink since stage 5, knows things will likely change tomorrow.

“Today it was a perfect day for the breakaway. Many riders wanted to make it. My team did a perfect job. One more day for me in the ‘maglia rosa’ and I just need to say thank you to all my teammates,” he said. “Tomorrow, I will enjoy the day as much as I can. I will suffer and I will enjoy until the final climb. There, we’ll see what I can do. It’s already been incredible an incredible adventure for me”.

Giro gets real in Italian Alps

The Giro d’Italia plunges into the Italian Alps on Saturday for stage 14 with its first true five-star mountain stage.

A savage 133km route packing 4,350 meters of climbing is expected to reshuffle the general classification and set up the final week of racing still to come.

All eyes turn to Vingegaard.

After surviving crashes, illness, sprint chaos, and the stage 10 time trial, the Dane enters the decisive weekend poised to seize the maglia rosa.

He’s still 33 seconds behind Eulálio, but he’s ahead of everyone else.

With five rated climbs, including the Cat. 1 grinder to the summit, no one among the top 10 can afford to have a bad day.

Giro d’Italia stage 13 results