Davide Piganzoli wins 109th Giro dell'Emilia as Brandon McNulty debuts rainbow jersey
Visma-Lease a Bike rider Davide Piganzoli held off Tom Pidcock on the Madonna di San Luca climb to secure Italy's first Giro dell'Emilia victory in eight years.
Italian victory at Madonna di San Luca
Davide Piganzoli won the 109th edition of the Giro dell'Emilia on Saturday, capturing the UCI ProSeries semi-classic on the Madonna di San Luca climb in Bologna. The 24-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider became the first Italian to win the race since Alessandro De Marchi in 2018. Covering between 197 and 198 kilometres from Ferrara to Bologna, the one-day competition serves as the main preparatory race ahead of Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season scheduled one week later. Piganzoli secured his seventh professional victory and fifth win of the season, having earlier taken stage and general classification titles at both the Tour de Luxembourg and the Route d'Occitanie.
McNulty attacks on the Bologna circuits
The race intensified over the final 40 kilometres on the Bologna circuit, which featured repeated ascents of the 2.1-kilometre San Luca climb averaging a 9.4% gradient. Brandon McNulty of UAE Team Emirates made his first appearance in the world champion rainbow jersey following his victory in Montreal six days prior. McNulty attacked on the third of five ascents with roughly 19 to 20 kilometres remaining, splitting the peloton. A chasing group featuring Tom Pidcock, Oscar Onley, Matteo Jorgenson, and Ben Healy bridged across to the American. Piganzoli rejoined the front group on the penultimate lap, allowing Jorgenson to play a defensive team role when the Italian attacked on a descent with nine kilometres remaining.
- Peloton forms a guard of honour for Nairo Quintana ahead of his final career race
- Brandon McNulty attacks on the third ascent of the San Luca climb
- Davide Piganzoli bridges across to join the front chase group
- Piganzoli attacks on a descent to open a 15-second gap over chasers
- Tom Pidcock and Oscar Onley launch a counterattack on the final climb
- Piganzoli wins by three seconds ahead of Pidcock and Onley in Bologna
Final ascent and podium battle
Piganzoli built a 15-second lead over the chasing group before reaching the foot of the final climb to Madonna di San Luca. With 500 metres remaining on the steep slopes, Pidcock and Onley launched a joint counterattack that significantly reduced Piganzoli's advantage. Piganzoli held on to cross the finish line three seconds ahead of the two British riders, raising his arms in celebration. The result marked the third consecutive second-place finish at the Giro dell'Emilia for Pidcock, who was previously beaten by Tadej Pogacar in 2024 and Isaac Del Toro in 2025. Visma-Lease a Bike placed three riders in the top five, with Ben Tulett taking fourth and Jorgenson finishing fifth, while McNulty took tenth place at 45 seconds behind the winner.
Quintana concludes professional career
The race marked the final professional appearance for 36-year-old Colombian climber Nairo Quintana of the Movistar team, who retired ahead of the season's conclusion. Before the rollout in Ferrara, the peloton lined up to give Quintana a guard of honour in recognition of his career achievements. During his time in the professional ranks, including a period with French team Arkéa from 2020 to 2022, Quintana won the 2014 Giro d'Italia and the 2016 Vuelta a España. He also achieved three stage victories at the Tour de France and finished runner-up in Paris in 2013 and 2015. Twelve Belgian riders, including Jarno Widar, started the race in Ferrara, though none managed a top-ten finish in Bologna.
