“There is no point in thinking about beating Jonas” - Felix Gall resets Giro d’Italia ambitions after Vingegaard seizes control

Felix Gall did not try to dress up the new shape of the Giro d’Italia after Jonas Vingegaard’s Stage 14 takeover. The Decathlon CMA CGM Team leader moved onto the podium at Pila, but after another mountain-top finish ended with Vingegaard riding clear, Gall admitted his fight now looks more like a battle for the podium than a realistic push for overall victory.

Vingegaard’s third stage win of the race finally put him into the Maglia Rosa, with Afonso Eulalio dropping to second overall at 2:26 after his long spell in pink came to an end. Gall climbed to third, 2:50 down, after limiting his losses better than most of the other GC contenders on the final climb.

Gall was one of the few riders able to stay close when Visma | Lease a Bike began dismantling the favourites group on the climb to Pila, but when Vingegaard launched inside the final five kilometres, the Austrian immediately chose not to follow.

“I was hoping I would be in the position to be on his wheel, but I could already feel that I was not even going to try,” Gall told Cycling Pro Net after the stage. “I think it would have been a bit too risky. I just didn’t have the legs, also with the heat. So I immediately settled into my own pace. Of course, it was nice that I had no one on my wheel, so I could focus on myself.”

That decision paid off in the context of the podium fight. Gall lost time to Vingegaard, but he moved ahead of Thymen Arensman, who slipped to fourth overall at 3:03. Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari also climbed inside the top six, but Gall remains best placed of Vingegaard’s rivals behind Eulalio. “There is no point in thinking about beating Jonas,” Gall admitted. “It is more a race for the podium for me.”

The honesty came after a day Gall described as a fight from deep inside the red zone. Stage 14 had always looked like one of the decisive mountain days of the race, and Visma made sure it became exactly that with a controlled, grinding performance from the opening climb to the final ascent.

Gall survived the heat, the tempo and the repeated climbs, but he made no attempt to pretend he had been comfortable. “I’m happy that I had a high level again,” he said. “I was not feeling super good today, just with the heat. Some days it’s a bit easier, and other days you have to work a bit harder. Today I was suffering a lot. I think I was also dying a bit in the last few kilometres. But I still made time on the guys as well, except for Jonas.”

Gall was also asked whether he still saw any chance of challenging Vingegaard if the high mountains offer another opening later in the Giro. He did not fully close the door, but his answer made clear where the race now stands. “Well, no, I am not giving up, but I can only do my best every day,” he said. “We have had three mountain-top finishes and I don’t think I was anywhere near him, especially today. It is 50 seconds, 49 seconds. But I think there is no shame in that.”

For Gall, Stage 14 was both a gain and a limit. He strengthened his podium position, distanced several direct rivals, and survived a day that cracked the pink jersey. But Vingegaard’s attack also confirmed the hierarchy at the top of the race. The Dane now has pink, momentum and the strongest team around him. Gall’s Giro is still very much alive, but the target has changed.