“He is clearly on a different level” - Felix Gall admits Jonas Vingegaard superiority after sealing career-best Giro d’Italia podium

Felix Gall ended the final mountain stage of the 2026 Giro d’Italia with second place on the stage and second place effectively secured overall, but the Austrian was in no mood to pretend Jonas Vingegaard had been within reach.

Gall was the only rider able to follow when Vingegaard attacked on the final ascent of Piancavallo, but even that resistance lasted less than a kilometre. The maglia rosa quickly rode clear alone, took his fifth stage win of the race and stretched his lead over Gall to more than five minutes before Sunday’s largely ceremonial finale in Rome.

For Gall, the day still confirmed a breakthrough three weeks. The Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider finished second on the stage, ahead of Jai Hindley and Derek Gee-West, and is now set to finish on a Grand Tour podium for the first time in his career.

Asked whether his Giro effort might at least have taken some energy out of Vingegaard before the Tour de France, Gall smiled at the idea but immediately made clear how strong the Dane had been in Italy. “Yeah, that would be nice. That is actually the whole plan,” Gall told Cycling Pro Net. “But I am not sure how much Jonas was really worried about me here. Like I have already said a few times, he is clearly on a different level.”

Gall went into the Giro with clear ambition rather than surprise at his own level. Decathlon CMA CGM Team had targeted the podium, and over three weeks he became Vingegaard’s closest challenger in the general classification. “We went into this Giro with the objective of a podium,” Gall said. “I knew it was possible, but also that a lot of things had to come together.”

Those things did come together. Gall avoided the crashes and illness that affected other riders, climbed consistently through the final week and stayed strong enough on Piancavallo to win the sprint behind Vingegaard. After the finish, he pointed to the preparation and the wider team performance as the base for his result.

“For sure, we did a lot of things right in the preparation,” he explained. “Physically, maybe I was just a little bit better than usual. The other circumstances were also in my favour. We had no bad luck, no crash, more or less no sickness. It was pretty much perfect, I would say.”

Gall also praised the atmosphere inside the Decathlon squad across the race, with the team keeping him protected deep into the final week and helping him defend second place against Hindley and the rest of the podium contenders.

“The team was super good again and we can be so proud of what we did here over these three weeks,” he said. “Every single one of us really stepped up and progressed a lot.”

The final stage on Piancavallo brought one last test after a brutal third week. Gall initially followed Vingegaard’s attack, then settled into the chase behind before Hindley and Gee-West came across. He still had enough left to finish second on the stage and preserve his place as Vingegaard’s nearest rival overall. “I was sitting on Jai Hindley and Derek Gee-West’s wheel, then I did a good sprint again,” Gall said.

The support on the roadside also stood out, with plenty of Austrian fans visible on the final climb as Gall closed in on the biggest Grand Tour result of his career. “It was so nice to see so many people on the road and to hear my name all the time,” he said. “It is something special.”

When asked for his highlight of the race, Gall did not pick out one decisive attack or one single result. After three draining weeks, the emotion was simpler. “Maybe today, maybe yesterday, with the scenery. It was super nice,” he said. “Today was also nice. I am just happy it is over now.”

Gall will not ride the Tour de France, giving him time to recover after his Giro podium before building again for the Vuelta a Espana. “Next is a few days off the bike,” he said. “I am not going to touch the bike for sure for a week now. That is also the luxury I have now. I am not doing the Tour, so I can really recover and then come back for the Vuelta.”

Gall could not match Vingegaard in Italy, and he did not try to claim otherwise. His Giro still ends with the result Decathlon came for, a first Grand Tour podium, and the clearest evidence yet that he belongs among the strongest three-week climbers in the peloton.