France's Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) sped to a hat-trick victory in the Giro d'Italia on Thursday, winning the bunch sprint on damp roads in Pieve di Soligo on stage 18.
The 22-year-old finally cemented the triple after a 15-day wait since his last victory – taken two weeks and a lifetime ago in Sofia, Bulgaria on stage three. It also saw him reclaim the ciclamino jersey from Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) with a comfortable 37-point lead.
On a tough finish featuring a cat-four climb with 10km to go, it didn't always look as though the sprinters would have their day. But despite a lot of attacking riding, not least from former maglia rosa Alfonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious), the race came back together in the final kilometres.
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) retained the maglia rosa, 4:03 ahead of Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM).
"I didn't really expect it would happen today, which makes it even more beautiful," an exuberant Magnier said after the stage.
"I can really thank my team for the confidence. I was not confident in myself this morning and I even [got] dropped on the first climb, then I tried to focus again. My teammates were around me and they made it to the sprint - I'm so happy to win here today."
He added: "To be honest I can't even remember the final. I think I'll enjoy the three stage wins, I had the pink jersey already, and the ciclamino jersey for many days. That is something I didn't expect before this Giro and I'm super proud to be there now."
Taking the riders 171km west to east across the far north-east of Italy, today's parcours was hardly pan flat but looked as though it could present an opportunity for the sprinters if the stars aligned. Two classified climbs – a cat-three mid-stage and the cat-four Muro Ca'del Poggio at 10km to go, looked as if they might trip the fast finishers up, which is exactly what nearly happened.
The GC teams initially looked happy to play the game on the Ca'del Poggio, riding at a relaxed pace that suited even the likes of Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Magnier. But Eulálio had other ideas despite having crashed earlier in the stage. His hard attack drew the GC hopefuls into a chase that ultimately separated the peloton, and only came back together with 3.5km to go.
On a sinuous finish, Magnier took the initiative after being set up by teammate Jasper Stuyven and got a huge leap ahead through the final bend to take a comfortable win.
Results
Giro d'Italia 2026, Stage 16: Fai della Paganella > Pieve di Soligo, 171km
1. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step, 171km in 3:46:50
2. Eduardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
3. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek
4. Francesco Busatto (Ita) Alpecin-Deceuninck
5. Corbin Strong (Nzl) NSN Cycling
6. Thomas Silva (Uru) XDS-Astana
7. Madis Mikhels (Est) EF Education-EasyPost
8. Filippo Magli (Ita) Bardiani CSF 7 Saber
9. Sakarias Koller Løland (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
10. Lukáš Kubiš (Slo) Unibet Rose Rockets
General Classification after stage 16
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 70:44:04
2. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon CMA CGM, +4:03
3. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Netcompany-Ineos, +4:27
4. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +5:00
5. Alfonso Eulálio (Por) Bahrain Victorious, +5:40
6. Derek Gee-West (Can) Lidl-Trek, +7:09
7. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling, +7:14
8. Davide Piganzoli (Ita) Visma-Lease a Bike, +7:57
9. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +8:34
10. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +9:20
