Kuss solos to victory on Giro's brutal queen stage and Vingegaard stays in pink

ALLEGHE, Italy -- American rider Sepp Kuss soloed to victory on the toughest stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday, while Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Jonas Vingegaard remained firmly in the overall lead heading into the final two days.

The so-called queen stage had more than 5,000 meters of climbing across six tough ascents through the stunning Dolomites.

That included the mighty Passo Giau, the highest point of this year’s race and so brutal it was ranked “hors categorie” — defying categorization.

Kuss, who had been part of the day’s breakaway, crossed the line at the summit finish of Alleghe 13 seconds ahead of Derek Gee-West to complete the Grand Tour trilogy, having won stages in the Tour de France and Spanish Vuelta, where he also finished first overall in 2023.

Giulio Ciccone was third, 36 seconds behind Kuss and just ahead of Felix Gall and Vingegaard.

Vingegaard maintained his overall lead of 4 minutes, 3 seconds clear of Felix Gall. Jai Hindley moved into third, just over a minute further back.

The winner of the Giro d’Italia will all but be decided on Saturday’s penultimate stage before the largely processional ride to Rome the following day.

The 20th stage is a 200-kilometer (124-mile) route from Gemona del Friuli that has three classified climbs, including the top-category ascent to the finish in Piancavallo.

The women’s Giro starts on Saturday and ends on June 7.

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AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling