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Giulio Ciccone moves into the pink jersey on a dramatic first day in Italy
By Tristan Rees
12 MAY 2026 | UPDATED 12.24 PM BST
Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) won stage four of the 2026 Giro d'Italia ahead of Orluis Aular (Movistar) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) who will don the pink jersey for the first time in his career on stage five. The pulsating sprint came after an intriguing final two hours of racing.
As expected the climb up Cozzo Tunno proved decisive with Aular's team, Movistar pacing the entire climb and dropping the pure sprinters like Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) and even the more versatile riders like the maglia rosa holder, Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team).
Narvaez benefitted from a late attack from teammate, Jan Christen, who launched with 1.7km to go on a tricky run-in to the line. This move forced Aular's teammate Enric Mas to chase and possibly influenced Aular's early sprint, which he started with over 300m to go – too much of an ask against the likes of Narvaez, and a disappointing end after his team worked all day. Despite this, it was impressive work from Movistar and bodes well for the rest of the Giro.
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Le Tour de France: a race defined by colour, passion and history, whose drama and romance continue to shape the identity of cycling’s greatest stage.


Le Tour de France: a race defined by colour, passion and history, whose drama and romance continue to shape the identity of cycling’s greatest stage.
Le Tour de France: a race defined by colour, passion and history, whose drama and romance continue to shape the identity of cycling’s greatest stage.


Le Tour de France: a race defined by colour, passion and history, whose drama and romance continue to shape the identity of cycling’s greatest stage.