“Today I can say I realised my dream” - Giulio Ciccone savours childhood ambition after taking Giro d’Italia Maglia Rosa

Giulio Ciccone has worn yellow at the Tour de France, won major mountain stages and built a reputation as one of Italy’s most explosive Grand Tour riders, but pulling on the Maglia Rosa at the Giro d’Italia carried a different kind of meaning.

After finishing second behind Jhonatan Narvaez on stage 4, Ciccone moved into the overall lead of the 2026 Giro d’Italia, taking pink after a frantic day from Catanzaro to Cosenza.

For Lidl-Trek, it was a major reward from a stage shaped by Movistar’s long-range pressure, the collapse of Guillermo Thomas Silva’s spell in pink, and a late battle for bonus seconds that completely reshuffled the top of the general classification. For Ciccone, though, the emotion went beyond the standings.

Speaking to Cycling Pro Net after the finish, the Italian made clear how much the jersey meant to him. “For sure it’s one of the best jerseys in the world,” he said. “It was really a special moment, but I have to say that the pink jersey is also something special, especially for me, because I really started to ride the bike with this dream. Today I can say I realised my dream from when I was a kid.”

Ciccone’s move into pink did not come without internal teamwork and sacrifice. Derek Gee, who had already been caught up in the Stage 2 crash and then suffered a mechanical during stage 4, still played a key role in helping Lidl-Trek protect the Italian’s position late on.

Ciccone was quick to point that out. “I really have to say thanks to this guy. He’s a hero,” he said of Gee. “He also crashed a few days ago. Today he had a flat tyre and Matteo stopped to wait for his group, and then in the final they were there together to help me.”

The gesture clearly meant plenty to Ciccone because Gee himself still has general classification ambitions. Rather than treating the Canadian’s work as routine team duty, Ciccone framed it as something he wants to repay later in the race.

“Derek also has ambition for the GC and he was there in front to help me. I think this means a lot,” Ciccone said. “I hope I can give him back this favour. I really believe this guy can do a really super good Giro. We all know him. He is like a diesel. He needs time, but for sure he will be top level in the next week or in the next stages. I will do my best to help him.”

Ciccone was also asked to compare the Maglia Rosa with the yellow jersey he once wore at the Tour de France. His answer underlined the difference between an unexpected moment earlier in his career and a jersey he had grown up dreaming about. “When I had the yellow jersey, I was really young, so I didn’t expect to wear the jersey,” he explained.

The pink jersey, by contrast, hit on something more personal. Ciccone has long carried the status of a rider capable of lighting up the Giro, but this was the day he finally reached the symbolic centre of the race.

The stage itself had been anything but straightforward. Movistar blew the race apart on the Cozzo Tunno climb, dropping Silva, Paul Magnier, Jonathan Milan, Dylan Groenewegen and a long list of other fast men. Egan Bernal briefly lost contact before being helped back by Ben Turner, while Jan Christen took six bonus seconds at the Red Bull kilometre and then attacked inside the final 2 kilometres.

Christen’s move was eventually brought back before Narvaez sprinted to victory, but Ciccone’s second place at the finish gave him enough to take the Maglia Rosa. After three chaotic days in Bulgaria and one aggressive first stage on Italian roads, the Giro now has an Italian leader.

For Ciccone, it was more than a tactical success or a standings update. It was a childhood dream made real in pink.