Sepp Kuss claimed victory on stage 19 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia, a 151 km mountain route from Feltre to Alleghe, on May 29. Kuss caught and passed Giulio Ciccone with about 2 km left to secure a solo win, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Derek Gee-West and 36 seconds ahead of Ciccone [1, 2].
Kuss became the 116th rider to win a stage in all three Grand Tours—the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, and Giro d'Italia [1, 2]. He credited his family’s support near the finish, saying, “I knew my mother was going to be there standing 500 metres from the finish so a big shout out to her and my family.” He added the goal remains to win the pink jersey alongside teammate Jonas Vingegaard, noting, “When they told me the other night I had the chance to go in the break I knew I had to seize the opportunity. This is something I've always dreamed of.” [1]
Jonas Vingegaard finished fifth on the stage, 39 seconds behind Kuss, maintaining a 4 minutes 3 seconds lead in the overall classification [1, 2]. Austrian Felix Gall finished fourth, also 39 seconds behind the winner [1, 2]. Giulio Ciccone had led much of the final descent before being caught on the last climb [1, 2].
Jhonatan Narvaez abandoned the race after a crash suffered the previous day caused ongoing discomfort, ending his Giro campaign with three stage wins [2].
The race now shifts to stage 20 on May 30, a 200 km mountain stage from Gemona del Friuli to Piancavallo, followed by the final stage in Rome on May 31 [1].
