The general classification favorites in the Giro d’Italia peloton had eagerly awaited the coming of stage 7, which would offer the first real test in mountainous terrain. Friday’s stage 7 of Giro d’Italia 2025 would take the riders through the Apennine Mountains on a 168-kilometer route from Castel di Sangro to Tagliacozzo. 

The riders would be passing through wildlife parks, forest areas, and beautiful mountain villages as the Giro passed through the Abruzzo region in the stage, which would culminate with an explosive finish on the Category 1 climb to the finish line. The stage would also include one Category 3 climb and two Category 2 climbs. GC hopefuls such as Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz, Juan Ayuso, and Egan Bernal would likely test their legs on the climbs, while hoping to gain time on various competitors.

The racing conditions were uphill from kilometer zero as the riders climbed the Roccaraso. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) attempted a breakaway early in the stage but was not allowed to form a viable lead by other teams with general classification ambitions. 

Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon-AG2R), Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal-QuickStep), Alessandro Tonelli (Team Polti-VisitMalta), Paul Double (Jayco-Alula), Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizane), and Christian Scaroni then broke away from the main peloton. Gijs Leemreize (Picnic-PostNL) later joined the breakaway.

There was an obvious power struggle going on between UAE Team Emirates and the Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe team. Every move was closely monitored and marked by the other team as perfect tactical decisions were necessary.

The weather conditions were overcast, the temperatures were chilly, and a slight rain was being felt by the riders on the descent, which followed the Category 3 climb. 

The seven frontmen had an advantage of half a minute as the riders passed through Campo di Giove when 137 kilometers of the stage remained. Being national park territory, wild wolves and brown bears were living in the mountains surrounding the mountain village, but fortunately they were enjoying the calm of the forest territories and hadn’t developed a taste for cyclists. 

Even the skies appeared to have a pink glare in honor of the Giro.

The breakaway riders reached the Monte Urano climb with a lead of two minutes over the chasing peloton. One hundred kilometers of the stage remained and riders from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe were spearheading the peloton - likely in preparation of a later attack from their GC favorite and team captain Primoz Roglic.

Following a fast descent from Monte Urano, the Giro peloton had reached the midway point of the stage. The riders had reached the Vado della Forcella, which was the final Category 2 climb of the stage. The climb was 21.5-kilometers long and had an average gradient of 3.6 percent. For a Category 2 climb, the average gradient percentage was low.

The seven breakaway optimists maintained a lead of approximately 03:30 minutes over the chasing peloton with ten kilometers of the climb, and 73 kilometers of the stage remaining.

The Vado della Forcella climb did not cause any significant developments in the race and the riders pressed on. The riders would now enter a long downhill section, only interrupted by minor hills, before the final Category One climb to the finish line in Tagliacozzo.

A crash occurred with approximately forty kilometers left. The crash brought down riders including Romain Bardet (Team Picnic-PostNL) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ).

A dog crossed the road with 36 kilometers left and almost caused a crash in the breakaway group. The local Golden Retriever dogs in the area would not be popular today.

The lead of the front group had been reduced to 01:20 minutes by the eagerly chasing peloton with 33 kilometers to the finish line. Bardet and other riders had been dropped from the main peloton at this point.

The complete Groupama-FDJ team had decided to wait for Gaudu and support him with his task of finishing within the time limit in today’s stage. Gaudu was 02:14 minutes behind the seven-man front group with 18 kilometers remaining. Meanwhile, riders from Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team had moved to the front of the main peloton to set a fast pace for Thomas Pidcock. They were supported by riders from UAE Team Emirates in their quest for their team captains Adam Yates and Juan Ayuso.

Riders from Lidl-Trek joined the front of the peloton – the team had high hopes for Mathias Vacek and Giulio Ciccone in today’s stage, with current race leader Mads Pedersen likely unable to protect his lead in today’s final climb to the finish line. Ineos-Grenadiers riders also joined the chase work.

Eleven kilometers remained and the riders had reached the feared Tagliacozzo climb to the finish line. 

The Category One climb immediately took its toll in the breakaway as Leemreize, Double, and Scaroni were dropped. The main peloton had been reduced to approximately 35 riders when seven kilometers remained. GC leader Mads Pedersen was now far behind in his pink leader jersey and would not be able to defend his race lead in today’s stage.

Bahrain-Victorious was leading the chase work from the front of the main peloton at this point. They caught the remains of the breakaway group with five kilometers left.

The riders entered the steeper sections of the final climb with 2.5 kilometers to go. Riders from Ineos-Grenadiers and UAE Team Emirates were at the front. David Gaudu had managed to catch the peloton before the climb after being far behind earlier in the stage.

Giulio Ciccone attacked for Lidl-Trek with 1.3 kilometers left. Egan Bernal responded for Ineos-Grenadiers as did Primoz Roglic, Juan Ayuso and others. Eighteen men remained in the front group.

Egan Bernal attacked in the final kilometer of the steep climb to the finish line of stage 7. Other riders responded. Bernal tried again. 

Juan Ayuso attacked and formed a gap for UAE Team Emirates. Ayuso proved the strongest rider in stage 7 and took a beautiful victory when he crossed the finish line in solo fashion with his arms raised above his head. Teammate Isaac del Toro was the next rider to reach the finish line, while Egan Bernal finished completed the stage podium for Ineos-Grenadiers. Primoz Roglic finished fourth, while Giulio Ciccone was fifth across the line.

“It is my fourth grand tour and sometimes I’ve been very close to winning and to win in the Giro today is very great for me,” stage winner Juan Ayuso explained to Roadcycling.com after the stage finish. 

“You only have one bullet, so I attacked hard and went full gas to the finish line. We had a good feeling in the team today and my win gives me a lot of confidence for the coming days,” Ayuso added.

Primoz Roglic (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) is the new leader in the general classification. Roglic is four seconds ahead of Ayuso, while Del Toro is third with a nice second deficit.

The riders will regroup on Saturday for stage 8 of Giro d’Italia 2025. Stage 8 will be a 197-kilometer ride through mountainous territory on a route from Giulianova to Castelraimondo, where breakaway hopefuls, climbers and downhill wonders will battle for the stage victory, while the general classification favorites are expected to preserve their energy for the stages to follow. The Giro peloton will have to test their legs on a Category 1 climb mid-stage.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete news and coverage from Giro d’Italia 2025.