DISCUSSION - Giro d'Italia stage 13 - FDJ's failed strategy. Bettiol wins at Ganna's home, but gets a real scare. Peloton in energy saving mode?

Alberto Bettiol delivered a perfectly timed attack to win stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia, giving XDS Astana Team a memorable success after an aggressive day shaped entirely by the breakaway.

The 189 kilometres stage from Alessandria to Verbania had been expected to favour attackers rather than the general classification contenders, and that prediction quickly proved correct. With only the climbs of Bieno and Ungiasca placed late in the route, the peloton never showed any real intention of controlling the race for the overall favourites. Instead, the fight to enter the day’s decisive move exploded from the flag drop.

The opening hour was raced at full speed as riders repeatedly attempted to form the right combination. A first promising move featuring Andreas Leknessund, Michael Valgren, Larry Warbasse, Diego Pablo Sevilla and others initially gained a small advantage, but the peloton continued to react nervously behind.

The race finally settled once a second group bridged across, adding major engines and experienced attackers such as Jasper Stuyven, Toon Aerts, Mikkel Bjerg and Bettiol himself.

With fifteen riders now clear, the peloton backed off completely. The advantage rapidly ballooned beyond ten minutes, effectively guaranteeing that the stage winner would come from the front group.

The decisive action arrived on the final ascent to Ungiasca. Josh Kench launched the first serious acceleration, but Leknessund quickly countered and immediately looked like the strongest climber in the move.

The Norwegian champion managed to distance most of his rivals and attempted to ride solo towards Verbania, yet Bettiol never allowed the gap to grow beyond control. The Italian remained glued to Leknessund throughout the climb, carefully measuring his effort before striking in the closing kilometre.

Once Bettiol accelerated, the race changed instantly.

Leknessund had no answer to the violent change of pace as Bettiol surged past him near the summit. By the top of the climb, the Italian already held an advantage of more than ten seconds, enough to take full control heading into the descent and flat run-in to the finish.

Behind them, Stuyven produced a strong ride to secure third place after surviving the selective finale.

Bettiol never looked in danger during the final kilometres into Verbania and celebrated his second career stage victory at the Giro d’Italia with clear emotion at the finish line.

For Leknessund, meanwhile, the result was another painful near miss. The Uno-X Mobility rider was forced to settle for second place in a Giro stage for the third time in his career, despite one of the strongest climbing performances of the day.

The general classification riders crossed the line safely in the peloton after a relatively calm afternoon, preserving the status quo before the race heads back towards more demanding terrain over the weekend.

At the end of the day, we spoke with the riders to hear what they had to say about another day of racing on Italian roads. Ruben Silva from CyclingUpToDate said:

”Always a day for the breakaway, with no GC action. That is what was expected of the second week, a week-long tease up to the 14ª etapa, the day all GC riders are saving themselves towards. The pan-flat start would make it difficult and tactical to form a breakaway, and as expected it was a group with plenty rouleurs and riders who stood little chances on a hilly finale.”

”Alberto Bettiol reaffirms his status as a rider who rarely performs at his best, but when he does, he thrives. There was special motivation, he was arriving at 'home' after all and had all his family at the finish, besides having reconned the finale several times before the race.”

”So he knew exactly what to expect and it was his pacing strategy on the climb that earned him the win, with a perfect tactic, waiting for the final steep ramp of the climb to truly accelerate and drop the unlucky Andreas Leknessund who raced to his second breakaway second place.”

”And behind was... The rest. My criticism today is pointed towards Groupama, who in a group of 15 managed to finish with 6th, 14th and 15th. I must be fair and say the profile wasn't perfectly fit for early attacks in the breakaway but... Their tactics were incomprehensible.”

”Groupama came to the Giro d'Italia with a very, let's say modest, team. Winning a stage would always be very difficult, and breakaways are the only thing they are managing to achieve, better then Picnic PostNL however, who haven't even put themselves in position to have an opportunity today. Groupama got 3 riders in a group of 15, a fifth of the entire group. Two are rouleurs, with no chances of going through the climb with the best, and the third is Josh Kench, a rider that has never given any evidence of performing with riders of this level.”

”Groupama did a great job at playing their cards early on, and with 3 men they could attack, they could counter-attack, they could create many tactics with their rouleurs early on, and with that, pressure the riders who could climb whilst letting Kench stay in the wheel. So what did they do? None of the above. They burned Jacobs and Huens for no reason only for Kench to attack and then right away get dropped.”

”Nothing against him, that was the predictable outcome, but it was not fair for the team to put that pressure on his shoulders and let's be honest. What are they doing in that car? I've criticized Lotto-Intermarché's choices already at this Giro d'Italia very strongly but I see Groupama doing just about as bad.”

”The purpose of having multiple riders in the breakaway is to increase the team's chances of winning the stage, and to race in different ways. They did not take risks to improve their chances, they chose to take responsibility and burn their riders when they absolutely did not have to, and they dragged the race towards a scenario in which they'd never win.”

”I know that looking from the sidelines and not the team car, it always comes with a grain of salt. But some tactics just baffle me, it almost feels like some sports directors do not know their riders or their rivals and give out orders based as if they are at an 80's amateur event against riders that are unknown to the public.”

Meanwhile, Pascal Michiels from RadsportAktuell offered the following reflection: ”Andreas Leknessund lit the fuse on the final climb. His attack was brave, sharp and perfectly timed to hurt the others. For a few minutes, it looked as if he had found the winning move. But Bettiol refused to crack. He hunted him down, reached him on the steepest slopes and then swept past with the authority of a rider who knew this was his day.”

”That was the beauty of his victory. Bettiol was not reckless. He was patient, fierce and devastating when it mattered. Leknessund made the race, but Bettiol conquered it.”

”Behind them, Jasper Stuyven turned limitation into pride. The climb was just too steep for him to follow the pure climbers, yet he never disappeared. He fought back, sprinted to third and rescued a podium from a finale that could easily have broken him. That says plenty about his condition and his character.”

”Michael Valgren, Mark Donovan and Josh Kench all earned their places in the top six. Each had a reason to believe, each survived deep into the finale, but none had Bettiol’s killer instinct when the road demanded something extra.”

”This was a victory with emotion in it. Bettiol had endured a thin season, but one perfect attack changed the story. The first move did not win the stage. The smartest, strongest and most passionate one did.”

Carlos Silva from CiclismoAtual offered a more concise analysis of what happened today. “Very honestly, it was yet another super boring stage. After the three days in Bulgaria, today the peloton simply went for a bike ride to the town where Filippo Ganna was born. The Netcompany INEOS rider still tried to get into the breakaway of the day... and he tried many times, I must have counted around 10 attempts. But he was unsuccessful.“

“Out of the 15 men who went into the day’s breakaway, I had picked Alberto Bettiol. I even considered putting some chips on the Uno-X rider, Andreas Leknessund, but I had that feeling the Italian would not forgive today if he had good legs. And that’s exactly what happened on the final climb of the day.“

“Andreas Leknessund attacked and for a moment it looked like he would go clear alone, but very close to the top of the climb Bettiol got onto Leknessund’s wheel and went past him like a bullet. By the time he crossed the mountain sprint line he had already opened a gap, and then gave everything until the finish to conquer his ninth victory as a professional.“

“I also have to point the finger at FDJ here. With three riders in the breakaway and they did nothing? Not a single attack, not a single move? They simply set the pace on the first climb and accelerated on the second. What for? What on earth is going through the DS’s head in the team car? It’s one of two things. Either he doesn’t know the riders he has in the team, more specifically the ones who were in that group, well enough to take advantage of the numbers, or the riders simply didn’t have the legs.“

A brief note for the organisers as well, who failed to signal the bumps on the road in the final kilometres of the stage, bumps that could have led to the Italian crashing. It was clearly visible on the TV images that Bettiol’s rear wheel lifted off the ground, and it took a lot of composure and experience on the bike to avoid hitting the tarmac at high speed.”

Javier Rampe from CiclismoAlDia analysed what happened on the road, and beyond that as well...

”A transition stage before Saturday’s fireworks, or so we hope, at least those of us who still believe in this religion without a prophet whenever Tadej Pogacar is not racing. What a difference compared to when the contemporary legend rode the Giro d'Italia back in the now distant 2024.”

”As if it were a completely different sport, by this point in the race, up to the 13th stage, he already had three victories, which could easily have been four had he not come up against Jhonatan Narváez on the opening day.”

”The reality is that Pogacar was never afraid of wearing pink, much less attacking while wearing it. He honours every race he enters. He does not always win, but he always attacks.”

”But in 2026, we have a Jonas Vingegaard who seems just as terrified of wearing the leader’s jersey as he is of spending energy. Meanwhile, Afonso Eulálio remains at the top of the standings and, if he survives tomorrow on Pila, he could complicate the ambitions of several major contenders.”

”Speaking of people who truly honour this religion called cycling, and his first Italian Grand Tour, the Italians deserve praise. The passion they bring to their home race is remarkable. Today, just to avoid forgetting anyone else, I will only mention Alberto Bettiol, winner on the day in true XDS Astana and Alexander Vinokourov school fashion: cold blood and a machete between the teeth.”

”From a Spanish perspective, Diego Pablo Sevilla of Polti continues fighting for intermediate sprints with enormous determination and courage. As for Movistar Team, nobody understood why they failed to place even a single rider in the breakaway. Are they waiting for Saturday? Will Vingegaard even allow them to? If it were up to Team Visma | Lease a Bike, we would ride hand in hand all the way to Piancavallo.”

The dominant feeling after the stage was that Alberto Bettiol brought life to what many considered a predictable transition day. Several analysts praised the Italian’s timing, patience and racing instinct, particularly the way he measured his effort before overpowering Andreas Leknessund on the decisive climb. At the same time, there was criticism directed at Groupama-FDJ United and Movistar Team for their tactical decisions, with many feeling they failed to maximise their numerical advantages or animate the race when opportunities appeared.

Beyond the stage result itself, the discussion also turned towards the broader atmosphere of this Giro d'Italia. Comparisons with Tadej Pogacar’s aggressive racing style in 2024 highlighted what some see as a far more cautious approach from Jonas Vingegaard and Team Visma | Lease a Bike. While the general classification contenders continue to save energy for the mountains, riders like Bettiol, Leknessund and Diego Pablo Sevilla earned praise for racing with ambition and emotion on a day that otherwise risked passing quietly.