Felix Gall Is 17 Seconds Behind Vingegaard—And Everyone's Watching
After stage 9 of the Giro, the Austrian climber sits second overall, close enough to make the final week very interesting.
The Giro d'Italia hit its first big mountain test on stage 7, and Jonas Vingegaard did exactly what everyone expected: Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard showed just why he was the pre-race favourite for the Giro d'Italia by storming up the legendary Blockhaus to claim a decisive Stage 7 win, attacking at the end of the mountainous 244km stage to put a significant time dent in his general classification rivals, with only Austrian Felix Gall able to stay close to him.
But "close" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. After stage 9, Gall sits just 17 seconds behind Vingegaard in the overall classification. And with a 42km individual time trial, more summit finishes, and a final week that includes some of the Giro's hardest climbs, this race is far from decided.
The Blockhaus Moment
Stage 7 was supposed to be the GC shakeout. The Blockhaus—steep, exposed, and sitting at over 1,600 meters—has a history of breaking riders. Vingegaard became the 115th cyclist to win a stage in each of the three Grand Tours. His acceleration in the final 3 kilometers was clinical: smooth, measured, and utterly devastating to everyone except Gall.
Gall didn't follow the first attack. He didn't need to. He rode his own pace, limited his losses, and crossed the line close enough to stay in contention. That's not desperation—it's tactical discipline.
By stage 9, Felix Gall faded in the final kilometre for second on stage while maglia rosa Afonso Eulálio pushed on the steep climb to hold the lead. Vingegaard took another solo stage win atop Corno alle Scale, but Gall remains within touching distance.
Who Is Felix Gall?
Austrian rider Gall is just 1:15 down on Jonas Vingegaard and seventh overall after the first major summit finish. (Note: this was after stage 7; he's since moved up to second.) The 26-year-old AG2R Citroën rider has been building toward this moment for years. He won a stage at the 2023 Tour de France, finished inside the top 15 overall, and has quietly developed into one of the best pure climbers in the peloton.
What makes Gall dangerous is his consistency. He doesn't blow up. He doesn't overcook efforts. And in a three-week race, where one bad day can cost you 5 minutes, that reliability is gold.
The Time Trial Problem
Stage 10 of the Giro is a 42 km time trial from Viareggio to Massa. Vingegaard is one of the best time trialists in the world—he's beaten Tadej Pogačar head-to-head in Tour de France TTs. Gall is... not that.
Gall knows this. His team knows this. When asked about the upcoming time trial, Gall said, 'I'm expecting to lose time on my opponents.' The question is: how much? If Gall loses 90 seconds in the TT, he'll drop to around 2 minutes behind Vingegaard heading into the final week. That's manageable. If he loses 3 minutes, the race is effectively over.
But here's the thing: Gall doesn't need to beat Vingegaard in the TT. He just needs to not get destroyed. If he can limit his losses and stay within 2 minutes, the final summit finishes—where Gall is most dangerous—will give him opportunities to attack.
The Portuguese Wildcard
Afonso Eulálio continues to lead the general classification despite Jonas Vingegaard's stage 9 victory. The 23-year-old Bahrain Victorious rider was part of a breakaway that won stage 5, grabbed the pink jersey, and has been clinging to it ever since.
Eulálio is now over 6 minutes behind Vingegaard, and while his Giro has been a revelation, the expectation is that he'll fade as the race enters its hardest week. But don't write him off entirely—breakaway riders defending jerseys have pulled off unlikely results before (see: Egan Bernal, 2021 Giro).
What the Next Week Holds
After the time trial on stage 10, the Giro heads into rest day number two, then launches into a brutal final stretch. Multiple summit finishes, stages over 200km with 4,000+ meters of climbing, and a mountain-top finish in the Dolomites before the race ends in Rome.
Vingegaard is the favorite, and for good reason. But Gall has shown he can follow the Dane on the steepest gradients, and with a 17-second gap, one mistake—a mechanical, a bad day, a wrong tactical call—could flip the race.
What This Means for Your Riding
Grand Tour racing offers lessons for all of us, even if we're never going to ride 244km stages. Gall's approach on the Blockhaus is instructive: he didn't panic when Vingegaard attacked. He rode his own pace, limited his losses, and stayed close enough to remain dangerous.
Translate that to your next gran fondo or hard group ride: when someone attacks, your first instinct might be to chase immediately. But sometimes, the smarter move is to ride your own pace, let the gap stabilize, and reel them back in gradually. Panic efforts burn matches you'll need later.
And if you're planning to race against stronger riders, study Gall's strategy. He knows he can't beat Vingegaard in a time trial. So he's focused on the climbs, where his strengths shine. Play to your strengths, minimize losses in your weak areas, and position yourself for the moments where you have an advantage.
The Giro's final week will show whether Gall can pull off an upset. But even if Vingegaard wins, Gall has already proven he belongs on the GC podium of a Grand Tour. And for a rider who's spent years building toward this moment, that's a victory in itself.