Giro d’Italia 2026 Stage 10 ITT recap: Filippo Ganna wins historic time trial as Afonso Eulalio defends pink jersey from Jonas Vingegaard

Italy’s Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS) equalled the great Eddy Merckx’s record of seven time trial wins at the Giro d’Italia with a comprehensive victory in Stage 10 at Massa.

The former double world time trial champion completed the flat 42km course from Viareggio on the Tuscan coast in a blistering time of 45:53 at an average pace of 54.92 km/h, catching eight riders in the process.

It was the 31st time trial win of Ganna’s illustrious career and set-up a memorable Netcompany INEOS one-two, with the impressive Dutchman Thymen Arensman finishing best of the rest at 1:54.

Arensman’s solid ride saw him rise into the third spot on the podium at the expense of Austria’s Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), who shipped 4:22 on a day to forget.

Portugal’s Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious) lost the best part of five minutes to the peerless Ganna, but kept hold of the pink jersey by 27 seconds after Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) struggled to make an impression in a time trial devoid of any hills.

Vingegaard could only post the thirteenth best time on the day, coming home exactly three minutes behind Ganna and the best part of two minutes ahead of Eulalio.

Frenchman Remi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ United), Dutchman Sjoerd Bax (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Canada’s Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) completed the top five in a captivating race against the clock.

Gee-West and the Spaniard Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost) both rose into the top 10 in the general classification at the expense of Christian Scarponi (XDS Astana) and Mathys Rondel (Tudor Pro Cycling).

Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe duo Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari both stayed in the top 10 despite their rest days being reportedly disrupted by illness, although Hindley dropped two places to sixth.

Hindley’s fellow Western Australian, Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla), rode to eleventh place and rose into the top five, while a third Australian, Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling), moved up three places to seventh.

The Giro d’Italia continues on Wednesday with the lumpy 195km Stage 11 from Porcari to Chiavari, where four tough climbs ahead of a flat finish will play into the hands of a breakaway and perhaps entertain attacks from those GC riders who struggled in the race of truth.

But Eulalio’s inspired ride on Tuesday means the 24-year-old now has a good chance of keeping the famous maglia rosa until the race’s next big mountaintop finish on Saturday.

The pink jersey sees his advantage slashed to 27 seconds as Gall drops out of top three at the expense of Arensman, while Scaroni and Rondel fall out of top 10 for Gee-West and Beloki.

1. Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain-Victorious)
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +0:27
3. Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) +1:57
4. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) +2:24
5. Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla) +2:48
6. Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +3:06
7. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) +3:28
8. Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) +3:34
9. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +3:36
10. Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost) +4:16

"I think we did an amazing job this winter – especially with our GC riders like Thymen Arensman. It was a great team job so we can enjoy tonight a little bit while remaining our focus for the last 10 days. I really like long TTs like this. I’m really happy to finally find a good TT like this for me – one without a climb. From today starts another Giro for Filippo. I now try to conserve my energy and then to win a road stage – perhaps on Friday."

It’s a one-two for the British team…

1. Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS) 45:53
2. Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) +1:54
3. Remi Cavagna (Groupama-FDJ United) +1:59
4. Sjoerd Bax (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +2:04
5. Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) +2:16
6. Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek) +2:29
7. Johan Price-Pejtersen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) +2:29
8. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2:33
9. Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) +2:40
10. Niklas Larsen (Unibet Rose Rockets) +2:42
11. Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla) ”
12. David de la Cruz (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +2:52
13. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +3:00

Confirmation, then, that the Italian from Netcompany INEOS has won the seventh Giro time trial of his career to match a record set by the great Eddy Merckx.

The Portuguese youngster crosses the line a whopping 4’57” down on Filippo Ganna – but that’s only 1’57” down on his rival Vingegaard, so Afonso Eulalio remains our race leader.

The Portuguese had 2’24” on Vingegaard this morning but was almost two minutes down on the Dane at the third check. He’s digging deep now to keep hold of the pink jersey, which he should well do by around 15-20 seconds.

The Dane finishes exactly three minutes down in 13th place, gaining only 31 seconds on Hindley and losing over a minute to Arensman… Very interesting.

He was never going to pull up trees today and he’s come over the line 4’22” down on Ganna and well down on most of his GC rivals. A big second week begins for Felix Gall tomorrow.

The Australian comes home 3’31” down on Ganna and he’ll drop below compatriot Ben O’Connor today. But considering he’s been ill, that is perhaps not the worst scenario for the Red Bull rider.

The race leader is 3’12” down on Ganna at the second check, which is 1’30” behind Vingegaard, who appears to be slowing. So the Portuguese might well keep his pink jersey – just.

Thymen Arensman powers home for provisional second place. The Dutchman may be 1’54” down on his team-mate Ganna, but he’s five seconds clear of Remi Cavagna and it looks unlikely that anyone else will beat him today. His podium push is well and truly on.

But it doesn’t really matter, for he only really needs to compare himself to Eulalio right now. The Dane is only 11th best at the second check, 1’43” down on Ganna, so he’s 33 seconds behind Arensman.

The Dutchman goes though the third check at 1’42” just before the Austrian goes through the second check at 2’43”.

The Western Australian puts in a decent ride for tenth, 2’42” down on Ganna. Now let’s see how the remaining riders from the top 10 fare.

Considering he has been sick, that’s a solid effort from Giulio Pellizzari, who comes home in provisional 15th at +3’18”. It could have been much worse - especially if you believe the rumors that the Italian couldn't leave his bed yesterday.

The Portuguese comes through 1’46” down on Ganna, which is 50 seconds down on Vingegaard. It’s even 20 seconds down on Gall. The pink jersey might be changing hands.

The on-screen splits have the Portuguese already well down on the Dane – but Vingegaard is not that dominant. In fact, he goes through the 16.7km mark 56 seconds down on Ganna, which is only provisional tenth place and down on both Arensman and O’Connor.

Felix Gall looks like a rider who despises time trials: the position is not there and he almost overcooks into the barriers on a tight corner before the first time check. He’s well down: 1’27” to be precise, which is almost one minute slower than his GC rival Arensman.