Results Il Giro d'Abruzzo 2026 Stage 1 - Alessandro Fancellu pounces on brutal uphill finish as WorldTour riders denied in thrilling finale
CyclingTuesday, 15 September 2026 at 15:27
Alessandro Fancellu claimed victory on the opening stage of Il Giro d'Abruzzo, producing the strongest finish on the steep climb to Casalincontrada after a late attack from Mathys Rondel was shut down inside the final kilometre.
Fancellu crossed the line two seconds ahead of Rondel and Diego Ulissi, with Kevin Vauquelin, Nicolo Garibbo, Ludovico Crescioli and Nicola Conci all credited with the same gap. The result also put Fancellu into the first leader's jersey of the four-day race.
Rondel denied after late move
The original breakaway survived deep into the finale, with Filippo D'Aiuto and Emanuele Ansaloni the final two riders remaining clear after Marco Palomba and Kasper Andersen had earlier fallen away.
Tommaso Bambagioni attempted to bridge across during the closing kilometres but was caught with 10km remaining, while Netcompany INEOS continued to lead the chase from the peloton. D'Aiuto and Ansaloni were finally caught with just 1.7km to go, shortly after the road began rising towards the 2.3km finishing climb at an average of 8.1%.
Riccardo Lorello then attacked with 1.3km remaining before Rondel launched his own move approaching the final kilometre. The Tudor Pro Cycling Team rider briefly opened a gap, but the race came back together with around 800 metres remaining.
Fancellu then proved strongest in the final uphill battle, taking the stage ahead of Rondel and Ulissi and gaining the first advantage of the 2026 general classification fight.
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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.
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- The logical step now would be for Netcompany INEOS to sign Mattias Skjelmose as leader for GC...😉Martin15-09-2026
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