The first summit finish of the 2025 Giro came on the climb to Marsia, where UAE seized control in the final kilometers. Juan Ayuso attacked with 400 meters to go to take his first Grand Tour stage win, followed closely by teammate Isaac Del Toro.
This year’s Giro features an open GC field as Tadej Pogačar skipped the race as well as Vingegaard and Evenepoel. Pogacar has left his younger teammates Juan Ayuso and Isaac Del Toro to fight for a first Grand Tour victory against the likes of Primož Roglič, Antonio Tiberi, Egan Bernal, Simon Yates, Michael Storer, Richard Carapaz, Derek Gee and Max Poole.
While not the hardest summit finish, the climb to Marsia (11.9 km at 5.6%) was tough enough to create gaps and test the riders’ legs. The final 2.5 km at 9.84% proved decisive. It was a long, demanding stage, with Brandon McNulty burning 4,019 kilojoules over 4:09 hours, an effort of 13.8 kJ/kg/h.
This was not a day for the breakaway, as Red Bull and Lidl–Trek controlled the race for Roglič and Ciccone. UAE Team Emirates saved their legs for the finale and struck when it mattered. Rafał Majka set a hard pace on the steepest section, but it was Ciccone and Bernal who launched the first accelerations. Roglič, buried deep in the group, could not respond. In the final 400 meters, Ayuso launched a powerful attack that no one could follow. Del Toro sprinted to take second, securing a 1–2 finish for UAE and the first Grand Tour stage win for Ayuso.
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The full climb was completed in just under 25 minutes. The first 18 minutes, on the 4–5% slopes, were done at ~5.8 ᵉW/kg with heavy drafting influence. Despite the hard stage and the preceding tempo, Ayuso produced 6.74 ᵉW/kg for 7:43 on the steepest segment. All top GC contenders finished within four to eight seconds, with no major losses. Tom Pidcock, not riding for GC, still lost 34 seconds despite doing 6.23 ᵉW/kg. Now sitting only one minute behind race leader Roglič, it will be difficult for him to get into breakaways moving forward.