Once again, the sprinters didn't get their chance at the Giro d'Italia. Although the 13th stage was considered to be mostly flat, it did have two short climbs shortly before the finish. As a result, the peloton let a 15-man lead group go early on with a large lead, from which the day's winner eventually emerged. After 196 kilometres between Piedmont and Lombardy, Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana Team) won the stage in Verbania on Lake Maggiore.
Bettiol plays on its local knowledge
The decision from the escape group came 15 kilometres before the finish on the last of two short climbs to Ungiasca (3rd category). There, a group of four riders around Bettiol broke away, but fell apart before the summit. Bettiol proved to be the strongest rider of the quartet, broke away shortly before the mountain classification and could no longer be caught on the following descent and the last flat kilometres to the finish.
It was Bettiol's second stage win at the Tour of Italy since 2021. 25 seconds later, second place went to Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility). The sprint for third place went to Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) 44 seconds after the stage winner, ahead of Michael Valgren (EF Education - EasyPost).
Bettiol used his local knowledge to his advantage. His wife's family comes from the finish town of Verbania, as the Italian reported in the winner's interview. Accordingly, he knew the last climb to Ungiasca and the final kilometres to the finish.
The field reached the finish 13:06 minutes behind. There were no changes at the top of the overall standings. Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) leads by 33 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS, +2:03 minutes) and Felix Gall (Decathlon - CMA CGM, +2:30 minutes) followed.
Giro d'Italia 2026 - Results of the 13th stage
Stage 13: Alessandria - Verbania
Giro d'Italia 2026: Stage 13, Alessandria - Verbania
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | XDS Astana Team | 03:51:33 |
| 2 | Uno-X Mobility | +000:00:26 |
| 3 | Soudal Quick-Step | +000:00:44 |
| 4 | EF Education - EasyPost | +000:00:44 |
| 5 | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +000:00:44 |
| 6 | Groupama - FDJ United | +000:00:44 |
How the 13th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2026 went
The stage finish in Verbania is the birthplace of Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS), who managed to get into the day's escape group at the start of the stage. However, without luck. Instead, several riders broke away and eventually formed a 15-man lead group.
These included: Johan Jacobs, Axel Huens and Josh Kench (Groupama - FDJ United), Mark Donovan (Pinarello), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step), Mirco Maestri and Diego Sevilla (Polti), Larry Warbasse (Tudor), Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), Andreas Leknessund and Markus Hoelgaard (Uno-X Mobility), Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana Team), Francesco Busatto (Alpecin - Premier Tech), Michael Valgren (EF Education - EasyPost) and Toon Aerts (Lotto Intermarché).
Escape group gains a lead of over ten minutes
None of the teams in the peloton were interested in making a serious bid for victory on this stage. Accordingly, the lead had already increased to seven minutes after 70 kilometres. Nevertheless, the pace remained high: the first two hours of the race were completed at an average speed of 70 kilometres per hour.
As a result, the breakaway's lead increased further and reached the ten-minute mark 90 kilometres before the finish.
30 kilometres before the finish, the terrain around Lake Maggiore became a little more challenging. There were two mountain classifications in the 3rd category. However, there were no attacks from the large group on the first climb in Bieno (3rd category). Groupama - FDJ United in particular invested a lot in the finale to capitalise on its three-rider advantage in the group. Jacobs therefore dropped back early on. Huens then forced the pace for his team-mate Kench on the climb to Ungiasca (3rd category), who eventually broke away from the group with Valgren, Bettiol and Leknessund.
Leknessund then attacked with 1.5 kilometres to go, but Bettiol caught the Norwegian before the summit and left him behind. There were then twelve kilometres of downhill and flat racing to the finish, where Bettiol rode confidently to victory.
