After three thrilling days in Italy, La Vuelta Ciclista a España - visiting the country for the first time - has left the peninsula, heading for France before reaching Spain, with another detour through Andorra on the cards. The most international course in the history of the Spanish Grand Tour illustrates its global identity, and sheds a special light on Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), a staple of Italian cycling for a decade now. The 30-year-old might just have his best legs ever for his second participation in the Spanish Grand Tour after a win at the beginning of the month in another Spanish race: the Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa.
“I didn’t do anything special,” the ever-aggressive climber assures. “I just recovered really well from my crash at the Giro d’Italia, I trained a lot in altitude, and basta!” Yet his results leading up to the Vuelta start in Turin and the first few stages tell the story of a rider who has reached maturity and just took his most prestigious success, almost ten years after he burst on the international scene with a thrilling win in Sestola, at the finish of stage 10 of the 2016 Giro.
From Liège to San Sebastian
Ciccone was just 21 at the time, and his exuberant style immediately captured the hearts of the tifosi, as well as many more fans around the world. He’s repeated success on two occasions in the Giro (Ponte di Legno 2019, Cogne 2022), but the Italian Grand Tour brought him yet another frustration last May, when he crashed out of the race at the end of the second week.
Ciccone had been flying, coming off a stage win in the Tour of the Alps (UCI ProSeries) and 2nd place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). “I don’t want to say that finishing second behind Tadej Pogačar is like a victory, but it definitely is a good feeling,” he rejoiced. The smile disappeared in Italy on the road to Nova Gorica (stage 14).
Spain has actually been kinder to him in the recent stages of his career, although he also dropped out of La Vuelta 24 with knee pain. The year before, he had taken a spectacular stage win in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. This time, he turned to the Basque Country to return to competition two months after leaving the Giro d’Italia… and what a return!
The mighty slopes of Murgil Tontorra, the decisive climb of the 44th edition of the Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa, saw him take off towards his 13th professional victory, the first in a UCI WorldTour Classic. “Honestly, I didn’t expect to be able to win already today, but I’m really happy to have these legs and the same shape I had in the Giro before the crash,” he celebrated. “Winning here is something special, I really like this race.”
Pedersen: “We’re aiming for a good GC with Cicco”
Northern Spain kept on smiling at him as he turned to the Vuelta a Burgos, a UCI ProSeries launchpad towards La Vuelta, where the Italian climber ruled the emblematic ascent to Lagunas de Neila, winning the final stage of the race before setting off to… Italy, for the start of La Vuelta.
“It’s always nice to start in Italy,” he smiled, putting aside ambitions for the overall standings: “It could be a great opportunity, because I’m in great shape, but I’m just focused on being competitive day in and day out. I want to win, I want to make the most of my shape. The climber’s jersey really motivates me.”
Already crowned King of the Mountains in the Giro d’Italia (2019) and the Tour de France (2023), Ciccone could become only the third rider in history to win the competition in all three Grand Tours, after legendary climbers Federico Bahamontes and Luis Herrera. But his teammate Mads Pedersen (winner of four stages and the points standings at the 2025 Giro) confirmed there’s more to chase for the Italian star in La Vuelta 25: “We’re aiming for a good GC [general classification] with Cicco and the points jersey with me. We can deal with having two priorities, sharing the work, the pressure, the results… We were on a good path at the Giro until Cicco crashed and we believe we can do it here, otherwise one of us would have stayed at home.”
On day 2, the Dane worked for Ciccone, who finsihed 2nd behind Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) in Limone Piemonte. The next day, it was the Italian’s turn to set the sprint for Pedersen, who finished 2nd behind David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), while Ciccone came 4th. Victory eludes them, but the shape is definitely there. Will they be rewarded once the race reaches Spain?