ANDALO, Italy (AP) — A few meters from the finish line, Michael Valgren pulled his son's lucky charm from his back pocket and raised it high as he cruised to victory in the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia for the best win of his career on Wednesday.
Jonas Vingegaard, meanwhile, finished safely with the peloton to protect his overall lead at the Grand Tour race.
Valgren explained his celebration by saying his son had given him a Pokémon chip in the team colors.
It was the first Giro win — and first Grand Tour win — for the 34-year-old Danish rider, who broke away from the leading group with about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) to go in a perfectly timed run.
“This was missing from my resume. I think I deserved this," Valgren said. "I think I’ve always said it to someone in the media: My career has been pretty good, but I needed this Grand Tour stage win.”
It was an uneventful stage for Vingegaard, who maintain his overall lead of more than four minutes.
Wednesday’s stage took riders back to Italy in a 202-kilometer (126-mile) route from Cassano d’Adda to Andalo. The 16th stage won by Vingegaard on Tuesday crossed the border into Switzerland.
In Thursday's 18th stage, riders will stay in Italy to face an undulating route from start to finish.
The Giro ends on Sunday in Rome. The women’s Giro is from May 30 to June 7.
AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Redwood Symphony presents a unique, must-see musical event: the West Coast premiere of long-… Read moreA Little Night Music
Come and connect with local organizations, learn about support for housing, food, youth serv… Read moreOur Home San Mateo community resource fair
Dirk van Ulden said:
DavidKristofferson said:
Surrender? All I am sending your way is a feeling of utter pity…. but you can convince yourself of whatever you wish to believe.
guest9fd696a1f9b8f4fb0fc81261 said:
I worked under Slocum and Irizarry. Yes, Irizarry runs the office. The prior administration ran well. This one does not.
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.