Catch up on the latest action with this Giro d’Italia 2026 final week recap of stages 16 through 21, and a delicious Italian dessert to round up our tour of Italy.
Stage 16: Swiss Mountains
Stage 16 was a 113 km long course in Switzerland, featuring 5 categorized climbs and a mountaintop finish. Once again, Jonas Vingegaard named at the start of the day that he wanted the stage win and his team controlled the stage to make sure it happened. He launched in the final 6 km and wins the stage by over 1 min.
Stage 17: EF Saves Their Giro
Stage 17 was a hilly 200km long course, with three lower-category climbs. A massive breakaway formed with nearly 30 riders. Their lead stretched to over 7 minutes before beginning to come down. Michael Valgren from EF Education Easypost manages to win from the breakaway, giving EF their first stage win.
Stage 18: The Breakaway Stage That Wasn’t
Stage 18 was designed to be a breakaway stage. It was a hilly stage, stretching over 170km long, with two small categorized climbs including a category 4 climb in the final 10km. However, the sprint teams had a different idea, after being denied their sprint stage in Milan a few days earlier. The sprinters dug deep to keep their positions in the climb and ensured a sprint finish. Paul Magnier gets his third stage win of the Giro and secures the sprinters jersey in the process.
Stage 19: Victory for the Eagle of Durango
Stage 19 was a short but challenging stage, at 151km long with 6 categorized climbs including one “Beyond Category” climb in the back third of the stage. A power-filled breakaway including the likes of GC contender Derek Gee-West, King of the Mountains leader Giulio Ciccone, and one of Jonas Vingegaard’s strongest mountain domestiques, Sepp Kuss, built up a modest lead on the peloton. But Visma Lease-a-Bike wanted Kuss to win the stage so they didn’t press the day for the GC. Despite some pettiness-fueled attacks late in the stage from Ciccone, Kuss proved to have the stronger legs. The American rider wins the stage on the final climb of the day, overtaking Ciccone, and completing his goal of winning a stage in each of the three grand tours and giving Visma Lease-a-Bike yet another stage win.
Stage 20: GC Closure
Stage 20 was the final mountain stage of the Giro. It was 200 km long and ended with Piancavallo, a challenging 14.5km long climb with an average gradient of 8 percent. Vingegaard wanted the stage, and so he got the win, extending his lead in the GC and getting his 5th stage win of this Giro. In a somewhat poetic turn of events the first 10 riders of the finish line were also the top 10 riders in the General Classification, in a slightly shuffled order.
Stage 21: Milan’s Redemption
The first half of the final stage of a grand tour is a procession. Teams line up to take photos and enjoy a glass of bubbles. But, for the teams with sprinters, and especially for those without a stage win, the stakes are high. This was especially true for Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan who was the favorite for the leaders jersey, and this was his first grand tour without winning it. Other teams like the Unibet Rose Rockets whose sole goal was winning one stage at the Giro also had today as their final opportunity. Both would have to beat out a Paul Magnier who proved to be in flying form. Ultimately, Milan finally gets his stage win, which will be a sense of relief for the team that worked to balance GC, King of the Mountains, and sprinter’s jersey ambitions.
The Dish: Tiramisu
Tiramisu is one of my favorite Italian desserts, and fortunately for me originated in the Northeastern regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia where stages 18, 19, and 20 took place. So tiramisu felt like the perfect way to say arrivederci to this year’s Giro.
I made my tiramisu in the traditional way, using whipped egg whites and yolks in lieu of the quicker (and equally delicious) method of using heavy cream. Because tiramisu is served cold and uncooked, I had to pasteurize the eggs by adding hot sugar syrup to the eggs as I whipped them (aka make an italian meringue.)
Honestly, besides the eggs which just takes a bit of patience, it’s hard to think of a lower-effort high-reward dessert. Tiramisu is perfect. 10/10.
Thanks so much for making it to the end and following along this year’s Giro with me. We’re just over one month away from the Tour de France. À Bientôt!