“It was absolutely world class” - Bjarne Riis hails Michael Valgren’s emotional Giro d’Italia comeback win

Bjarne Riis has hailed Michael Valgren’s stage 17 victory at the 2026 Giro d’Italia as “absolutely world class”, with the former Tour de France winner describing the Danish rider’s triumph in Andalo as fully deserved after his long road back from serious injury.

Valgren attacked inside the final kilometre to win from a chaotic breakaway finale, holding off Andreas Leknessund and Damiano Caruso after a stage that repeatedly looked as though it might slip away from him. For the EF Education - EasyPost rider, it was a first career Grand Tour stage win and another major step in a comeback that has taken several years to rebuild.

Riis, who worked with Valgren more than a decade ago at Tinkoff-Saxo, said the victory carried extra meaning because of both their shared past and the difficulty of Valgren’s recovery.

“He did something insane today. It was absolutely world class,” Riis told TV MIDTVEST after Valgren’s win.

Valgren’s career was already an accomplished one before his major crash at the 2022 Route d’Occitanie, with victories at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Amstel Gold Race in 2018, as well as a world championship podium in 2021.

The crash that followed left him facing a long recovery. Valgren suffered major injuries including a fractured pelvis and serious knee damage, forcing him away from racing for months and eventually into EF’s development structure while he rebuilt his condition.

That context made the Giro victory more than just another Danish success story in a race already dominated by Jonas Vingegaard. “I have known Michael for many years, and he is one of the most sympathetic people I know,” said Riis. “Considering what he has been through, it is truly fully deserved. He has fought back well.”

Valgren had already shown signs this season that he was returning to his old level, winning from the breakaway at Tirreno-Adriatico earlier in the year. But the Giro win carried a different weight. After the finish, Valgren himself admitted that his career had been “pretty good”, but that he had still needed a Grand Tour stage victory.

Valgren’s win also continued a striking Danish thread through this Giro. Vingegaard has already won four stages and leads the general classification, while Valgren’s victory in Andalo added another Danish highlight to the race.

For Riis, there was humour as well as pride in the way the Giro has developed for Danish riders from the same region of the country as himself and Valgren. “That is pretty cool,” he said with a laugh.

Valgren’s victory came after a finale that suited his instincts perfectly. He had looked under pressure at times as Einer Rubio, Igor Arrieta, Caruso, Aleksandr Vlasov and Leknessund all fought for control, but when the front group came back together inside the final kilometre, the Dane refused to wait for a sprint.

One attack was enough. After years spent fighting back towards this level, Valgren finally had the Grand Tour stage win that had been missing from his career.