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The Red Bull KM sprint is coming soon, just 12km to go, with 6-4-2 seconds on the line.
Speeds touch 90km/h on a straight section of the descent.
Bernal is having to work himself on the front of the chase group. Netcompany have sacrificed Turner’s sprint chances to help Bernal but it might not enough to save Bernal’s GC hopes.
There are only 38 riders in the front group. Bernal is still fighting to get back on.
It’s over. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) has abandoned the Giro. That’s tough for the Belgian sprinter he fought a virus to stay in the race.
The Lidl-Trek team is stuck behind the chasing groups, so Gee-West might have to use neutral service or wait for his team car.
A problem for Derek Gee-West on the descent.
Bernal and Tiurner are only 20 seconds behind and so might yet get back on.
This work by Milesi and Garcia Cortina cracked the maglia rosa
Finally the riders can catch their breath on the descent but the pace is still high. There is no time to relax.
Movistar lead over the KOM and push on. They have hurt everyone in the peloton on the climb today.
The climb is almost over but there re 3km of flase flat and so more hurting.
Ben Turner has slowed to pace Bernal but they face a battle to get back on.
The riders are 1km from the summit, as Vingegaard and the Visma rider grab bidons.
We spoke too soon about Bernal. He is suffering and has lost the wheel in the front group!
Florian Stork (Tudor) is now the virtual race leader. He is in the front group and was only four seconds down on Magnier, along with Egan Bernal.
Bang Corbin Strong cracks and tells his teammates to leave him.
There is still 4km to go the KOM point.
Milesi has a face of pain as he gives his all on the front.
Corbin Strong (NSN) is still in the front group but is suffering to stay on.
Thomas Silva is already 2:00 behind.
There are only 50 or so riders in the front group.
Filippo Ganna has been dropped but Jack Haig is trying to pace him back to the front group.
The sufferance of Thomas Silva.
Thomas Silva est lâché à 10km du sommet !Il y aura un nouveau maillot rose ce soir à l’issu de la 4ème étape du Giro d’Italia ! 🩷 pic.twitter.com/8Kpz7KwVltMay 12, 2026
Tobias Lund Andresen of DEacthlon is also gone. Are there any sprinters left up front?
The Maglia Rosa Thomas Silva also cracks. There is still 9km to climb!
On a short but steep – 11% – Paul Maginer and Jonathan Milan are dropped.
Dylan Groenwegen, Ethan Hayter and Pascal Ackermann have been dropped.
The pace of Milesi and Garcia Cortina is hurting lots of sprinters and the break is also about to be swept up.
Riders are falling out of the back on the testing climb. Jonas Vingegaard only has two Visma teammates with him and two others further back in the peloton.
Movistar are riding for good climber and fast finisher Orluis Aular.
Arnaud De Lie is one of the first to be dropped as Movistar and XDS set the pace.
Visma and Vingegaard are up front.
There is fight for postion in the peloton. All the riders hasve been told the road narrows and is steep at the start.
The attackers change gears and start the climb. This switch in riding styles will hurt after the fast ride up the coast.
Teams are starting to position and protect their team leaders before the Cozzo Tunno climb.
Teams are staying vigilant about the wind but the race will soon change drammatically with the start of the climb.
Due to the warm weather, riders grab bidons and musettes in the feed zone.
Niklas Larsen drops back to Unibet team car and pours eater over his head and body.
The TV helicopter shots show the hilltop villages and so the testing terrain of Calabria.
The riders get to avoid the crosswinds when they enter tunnels along the coast road.
Groves was considered a sprint contender but crashed on stage 1.
Sadly it has been announced that Kaden Groves (Alpecin) has abandoned the Giro.
The average speed for the first hour is a fast 45.3 km/h.
The coast road is flat and straight as it follows the sandy beach coastline.
Flags along the roadside confirm the wind is blowing but for now the peloton is all together.
It’s time for the first feed zone. This cold slow the peloton briefly but then the roads are exposed to the wind from the Ionian Sea.
Other teams have moved up to the front of the peloton, in preparation for any crosswind action.
How strong is the wind along the coast? Well, the kitesurfer and windsurfers are out and moving at speed.
It’s interesting to see the Decathlon team leading the chase now.
The riders are pedalling into a 30km/h headwind as they near the Calabrian coast.
This is as great shot of Thomas Silva, his dog and his XDS Astana teammates.
Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost), Warren Barguil (Picnic PostNL-Raisin), Mattia Bais (Polti VisitMalta), Niklas Larsen (Unibet Rose Rockets) are working well together.
The riders are near Lamezia Terme now, where they flew into on Sunday night from Bulgaria.
This is an interesting break.
Darren Raferty can also climb well- he was third in the Tour of the Alps mountains classification. He is also 10 seconds down on Silva on the GC.
We expect Larsen to be strong too.
Sonas Vingegaard spoke before the start and seemed happy and relaxed as he talked how about how he needed to do some efforts on the rest day after the ‘easy’ pace of the opening stages.
Not quite a rest day for Jonas Vingegaard! 👀Jonas Vingegaard says he was hitting intervals on the first Giro d’Italia rest day! pic.twitter.com/DiMv9lCz0AMay 12, 2026
XDS-Astana have two riders on the front of the peloton leading the chase.
These are the six riders up front: Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost), Warren Barguil (Picnic PostNL-Raisin), Mattia Bais (Polti VisitMalta), Niklas Larsen (Unibet Rose Rockets)
It has been confirmed that Wilco Kelderman (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) is the only non-starter.
Other teams are trying to join the five attackers but that only inspires the peloton to chase.
Meanwhile XDS are trying to control other attacks from the peloton.
Warren Barguil is one of the riders on the attack.
Attacks! Riders keep going up the road but others chase them.
The riders seem relaxed and happy as they roll out but all the Bardiani riders are up front and so we expected attacks.
As the riders cover the 12km neutralised sector, the XDS rider share some Haribo and extra sugars.
5km to the flag drop!
Jonas Vingegaard seems to be warming to the Giro.
🐝 🇩🇰 Jonas and The Bees#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/tFplIZe5G6May 12, 2026
This was the roll out.
🏳️ The first stage on Italian soil is underway! 📺 Follow the #Giroditalia on TV, and on socials, wherever you are 🌐 pic.twitter.com/yGtQel7wfXMay 12, 2026
This is what Netcompany DS Leo Basso said of the stage.
🗣️ “Now we start another phase of this #GirodItalia.”The peloton are rolling on stage four 🙌. We asked Sport Director Leo Basso to talk us through what today has in store 📹 pic.twitter.com/MA5c0Pz6oTMay 12, 2026
Don’t look down guys!
The crowds were huge in Bulgaria and they are huge in Calabria. The Giro is a celebration, an escape, and a day off work, school and normal life.
Jan Christen is the best young rider white jersey. He is perhaps also UAE’s team leader after losing Adam Yates and Jay Vine.
High-five! ✋🤍 Jan Christen #WeAreUAE#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/D6QireO0PhMay 12, 2026
The countdown is done and the riders roll out of Catanzaro.
Guillermo Thomas Silva is on the front row of the start grid in his maglia rosa.
Of course, true to character, Paul Magnier believes in his chances.
“You have to believe it, otherwise there’s no chance. I’ll try. But I’ll know pretty quickly whether I can make it or not,” Magnier told L’Equipe.
Unibet line-up at the rear of the peloton before the roll out. Dylan Groenewegen is not expected to survive the climb but Lukáš Kubiš could and is a proven fast finisher.
This is the stage map, with the stage in the toe of the Italian peninsula.
This is the stage profile.
The riders and the race caravan are gathering at the start.
The stage is ‘only’ 138km long but the riders face a neutralised sector of 12km, extending the time in the saddle.
Netcompany are the next team to sign on.
Pippo, Egan, e tifosi 💞 #Giroditalia pic.twitter.com/u0KjD8rrwIMay 12, 2026
The Giro is far more than a bike race, it’s a journey of discovery.
Meanwhile, the countdown to the Tour de France is already underway, with Remco Evenepoel one of the first riders to start his altitude training block.
This is the official stage profile and map. Look how long the stage follows the expose coast road.
Tappa 4️⃣ | Stage 4️⃣🚩 Catanzaro🏁 Cosenza📏 138 KM🏳️ 13:40#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/FyRxtUFYP0May 12, 2026
In Catanzaro the teams have started to sign on, with Picnic first on stage.
Paul Magnier told L’Equipe he will try to survive the climb and so sprint for the stage victory but warned about the cross winds.
“If Vingegaard is in the first echelon and manages to distance Bernal, they’ll go all out on the climb to try and take as much time as possible from him. And that won’t be to my advantage.
If the climb has a tailwind, that won’t be to my advantage either. But I had a good altitude training camp. I don’t feel too bad in the mountains.”
The sun is out in Italy. There is little sign of wind at the start but the forecasts are for a strong headwind for the ride out of Catanzaro.
Philippa York also gave her view on the racing in her Giro d’Italia analysis.
She noted how “The Giro d’Italia is no stranger to a bit of drama, sometimes of an exciting nature and at others excruciatingly painful.”
Dreams fulfilled but disasters poorly handled in Bulgaria – Philippa York’s Giro d’Italia analysis
James Moultrie and Alasdair Fotheringham are on the ground at the Giro for Cyclingnews. They also completed the transfer from Bulgaria to Italy.
Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quickstep) made it two wins in three days in a three-way photo finish in Sofia but will have to suffer on the climb today if he wants to sprint for a third win.
This is our full stage 4 preview.
Today’s stage is a 138km ride from Catanzaro to Cosenza in the southern Calabria region of Italy.
The wind is blowing in Italy today and so it could be a factor, especially along the coast road. We could see attacks, the peloton lined out and perhaps even splits due to echelons and the cross wind.
The wind is blowing from the riders’ left at average speed of 25 km/h.
Buongiorno and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 4 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia