Giulio Ciccone has raced the Giro d'Italia nine times. The 31-year-old Abruzzese has won three stages across those years, and has also worn a Grand Tour's leader's jersey before, yellow at the 2019 Tour de France, and been King of the Mountains in 2023. However, the Lidl-Trek rider has never quite managed to wear the pink jersey, to lead his home race.
That all changed on Tuesday's stage four, when, after 150 Giro stages, when, thanks to some canny bonus second poaching, Ciccone finally leads the Grand Tour. Visibly emotional on the podium, and in his TV interview, the Italian has achieved something special to him.
