Vingegaard shatters the Blockhaus record with an attack averaging 450 watts

Jonas Vingegaard had already warned that the Blockhaus would be the first major test of the Giro d'Italia 2026. And not only did he pass it. The Danish rider delivered a performance at the Italian summit that served to send a direct message to all his rivals and, in addition, to rewrite the recent history of one of the most mythical climbs in modern cycling. The leader of Visma Lease a Bike shattered the record for the ascent with a time of 38:26, reducing the reference set by Nairo Quintana in 2017 by almost a minute and a half.

Vingegaard turns the Blockhaus into a show of power and record

The seventh stage was a perfect trap to measure the true form of the favorites. With 244 kilometers, wind for much of the route, and the first major mountain finish of this edition, the day had all the ingredients to provoke significant differences. And Vingegaard responded as great candidates for winning a grand tour usually do: attacking when the road hurts the most and leaving everyone without a response.

The decisive move came 5.5 kilometers from the finish. After the wear-and-tear work of Sepp Kuss and Davide Piganzoli, Vingegaard launched his attack on the steep ramps of the Blockhaus, and no one could follow him. The Danish rider's attack, until he managed to drop everyone, lasted 3 minutes and 6 seconds, with an average speed close to 20 km/h despite an average gradient of 10.5%, maintaining 450 watts average and peaks of up to 670 watts.

But beyond the stage victory and the sensations, the most impactful data was the clock for the complete ascent. Until now, the modern reference for the Blockhaus was still Nairo Quintana's from the 2017 Giro, when the Colombian topped the climb in 39:54 on his way to one of the most memorable performances of his career. Vingegaard obliterated that record with a time of 38:26, which now becomes the new reference time for the ascent.

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That said, the context also helps to understand the real significance of the data. The stage in 2017 won by Quintana had almost 100 kilometers less than this day of the Giro 2026. The accumulated fatigue after more than 240 kilometers makes the Danish rider's performance in the final ascent even more impressive.

And it wasn't just Vingegaard who rode at a historic pace. Felix Gall also managed to beat Quintana's time and finished only 13 seconds behind the Visma leader. Jai Hindley, Giulio Pellizzari, and Ben O’Connor also finished below the old record, a clear sign of the extremely high level at which the Blockhaus was climbed in this edition.

The summit where Eddy Merckx inaugurated his legend in 1967 once again became the stage for a dominant performance. This time the protagonist was Vingegaard, who not only won the stage but also left the impression of having taken psychological control of the Giro d'Italia at the first major climb of the race.