"That's the greatest victory" - Giulio Ciccone on accomplishing his Giro d'Italia dreams and how he avoids regret

Giulio Ciccone seemed destined to take a stage win for much of the 2026 Giro d'Italia but finally sat down to rest in Rome on Sunday having come agonisingly close over the course of the Grand Tour. Despite disappointment, the Lidl-Trek rider has no regrets as he takes home the blue jersey for the King of the Mountains classification.

The Italian was among the strongest climbers when the race did go uphill, and after dropping out of general classification contention early in the race, was a near constant fixture in mountain breakaway attempts and made his fair share stick during the corsa rosa.

Three 3rd place finishes and a 7th place says all you need to know about Ciccone's Giro when it came to stage hunting - just coming up short on a few occasions. He has won Giro stages in the past, but not since 2022. He did also win the blue jersey once before in 2019, but this year he once again got his hands on the prestigious jersey.

And this one was all the more sweeter for Ciccone, now 31, and a key leader for his Lidl-Trek team. After the race concluded on the Rome circuit, Ciccone described the feeling of winning the classification in his home grand tour.

"It's certainly an immense feeling to race this final stage in Rome wearing this jersey, passing under the Colosseum and the Altar of the Fatherland," Ciccone said after the stage.

"I think it's one of the memories that will stay with me forever because it's such a powerful emotion. What's more, today we concluded the day and the Giro with Johnny's [Jonathan Milan] victory, which we'd been chasing since the beginning of the Giro, so I think the overall result is more than positive for us."

He also held the leader's jersey on stage 5. Despite finishing among the favourites in the peloton, it was a breakaway heist from Afonso Eulalio that took the jersey from his shoulders. Although disappointment, Ciccone declared he takes the most pleasure in the affection of the fans.

"Of course, I was disappointed to lose the pink jersey so quickly due to a series of circumstances that didn't allow me to keep it longer, but I repeat: for me, the dream was to wear it, I wore it, I came close to stage wins several times in this Giro, and I won this blue jersey for the second time. I'm here with the love of the public; I've found people everywhere for three weeks, and for me, that's the greatest victory."

Summarising his Giro d'Italia, Ciccone is happy with his fill. However, he's worried that he may have filled up too much for his pre-race plans for the rest of the season. He was planning to ride the Italian National Championships, Tour de France and World Championships, but will reassess that plan when the dust settles.

"Yesterday, I said I was giving our Giro an 8/10, but today I'm giving it a 9 because Johnny won and the team spirit is even stronger. I think we can really be satisfied. The original plan for what's next is the Italian National Championship, the Tour de France, and then preparation for the World Championships, but we're going to take stock with the team because this Giro was incredibly tough, and we'll see how things stand."

He added: "I have no regrets because I truly gave it my all. On the days when I risked winning the stage, I really pushed myself to the limit, so I don't regret making a mistake. A little disappointment, yes, but no regrets: I really gave everything, and I'm especially happy to have had an excellent Giro."