“He’s losing his head” - Chris Horner blasts Giulio Ciccone as Giro d’Italia frustration boils over
Cycling
Giulio Ciccone’s Giro d’Italia frustration has drawn a sharp response from Chris Horner, with the American former Vuelta a Espana winner questioning the Italian’s body language during a tense mountain-stage fight.
Ciccone has been chasing opportunities in the final week of the Giro, with the Lidl-Trek rider looking to salvage a major result and put pressure on the mountains classification. But Horner felt stage 16 showed a rider allowing that frustration to spill into the race itself. Speaking in his latest Giro analysis on YouTube, Horner focused on the moment Ciccone began reacting angrily inside the breakaway after taking maximum points over one of the climbs.
Horner questions Ciccone’s reaction in the breakaway
“Ciccone at this point in time is getting all angry and upset at everybody and you see him swinging his arms and stuff,” Horner said, after watching the stage back. “And I back up the film. He’s doing the same thing earlier on the climb. He’s got a little bit of a temper going here on today’s stage 16.”
For Horner, Ciccone’s frustration did not sit cleanly with the tactical picture around him. Jardi van der Lee had his own interest in the mountains classification, while Jhonatan Narvaez and UAE Team Emirates-XRG were also racing with their own objectives.
“I don’t know why,” Horner added. “He had stage 15 off. So he should be fresh today and should understand what’s happening tactically up here because if you’re Christian van der Lee, you definitely don’t want to go up the road with Ciccone because he’s got too much speed and he can outclimb you.”
“The chemistry in this group has not been brilliant”
Ciccone was one of the major names in the move, but the breakaway never became the smooth attacking unit he might have wanted. Horner pointed to the lack of cohesion as part of the day’s problem. “So Van der Lee has been sitting on most of the time and the chemistry in this group has not been brilliant, to say the least,” Horner said.
With Team Visma | Lease a Bike controlling behind and Jonas Vingegaard already in command of the overall battle, the hesitation in front only narrowed Ciccone’s room for manoeuvre.
Horner had already framed the day as one Ciccone should have been targeting. “Doesn’t take much common sense to figure out that today’s probably the stage you want to win,” he said, placing Ciccone alongside Narvaez as one of the riders who should have been thinking seriously about the stage and classification opportunities available.
Ciccone wore the Maglia Rosa earlier in this race
Ciccone’s frustration grows
Ciccone’s attacking instinct has kept him visible throughout the Giro, but stage 16 added another layer to his race. He took mountain points, stayed active, and kept searching for a way into the day, yet the visible irritation became part of the story too.
By the time the move was almost within reach of the peloton, Horner felt the situation had already slipped away from Ciccone. “There is no reason really for Ciccone to keep going any further because the gap’s at 45 seconds,” he said, after the Italian sat up and spoke to the team car.
The Italian still has time to strike before Rome, but Horner’s criticism was blunt. Ciccone’s legs are not the only talking point now. His frustration is too.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 3visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
- I'm picking .... .... Never mind 🫥flyer07-11-2026
- If Tiberi has a better and more consistent 2027 I somehow doubt it will be because of this victorious warning. Unless his preparation has been off, cycling isn't football.flyer07-11-2026
- Love this guy. He is such a pure racer.mij07-11-2026
- Fair enough. Everyone’s entitled to one and I respect yours! Nothing wrong with being a one week and GT guy if that’s his vibemij07-11-2026
- LOL...it's a predetermined finish ! N one is 'clashing' at these exhibition crits!frieders307-11-2026
- Surely the UCI and the race organisers have a responsibility to ensure the best medical care is available to riders when incidents like this happen. All very well pushing for global expansion but not so good if riders lives are put at risk because medical support is not up to scratch.Andy12306-11-2026
- Well it clearly helps that this was Pidcock's own car, no?Occam06-11-2026
Loading
1 Comments