Tommaso Dati stuns Pidcock on the Rennweg to open the Tour of the Alps

Under April’s still-uncertain skies, among the Tyrolean mountains that cradle Innsbruck like a natural amphitheatre, the Tour of the Alps opened with a trait that has always marked the Euroregional race: its knack for throwing new names into the spotlight of top-level cycling.

This time it was the turn of an Italian, Tommaso Dati – from Camaiore, not yet 24 – a fast finisher in a race that has always favoured the climbers, who had the tenacity to hang on in a stage raced at nearly 43 km/h average, and then the instinct to pick the perfect moment to catch everyone out in Tour of the Alps stage 1 on Monday, April 20th, 2026.

Next to him – in his wheel, rather – were riders far more used to the bright lights, such as Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5), second on the line. But on the Rennweg – the very finish that in 2018 crowned Alejandro Valverde World Champion – Dati stole the show to claim the first Green Jersey Melinda of the Tour of the Alps, on one of those days that can change a career.

Rounding out the podium was Germany’s Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling), ahead of two more Italians: Lombardy’s Gabriele Bessega (Team Polti Visit Malta), first holder of the FORST White Jersey for best young rider, and Trentino native Federico Iacomoni, Dati’s team-mate in the squad founded by former Formula 1 driver Ukyo Katayama.

Yet despite the forgiving elevation profile, the GC men didn’t just sit on the wheel either, with one eye already on the face-off at tomorrow’s uphill finish in Martell/Val Martello, Südtirol/Alto Adige. Australia’s Ben O’Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) was sharp enough to pick up the 2 bonus seconds at the Axams Bonus Sprint, while Dutchman Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers), runner-up at the 2025 edition, tried to break the deadlock with a finisseur’s move reminiscent of the one that carried Gianni Moscon to victory in Innsbruck in 2021 – only to fade a few hundred metres from the line.

Worth a mention, too, was the ride of Innsbruck’s own Emanuel Zangerle (Team Vorarlberg): on the attack from km 1, the gutsy Tirolean rouleur came within touching distance of the dream of winning in front of his home crowd, before he had to surrender to the returning peloton with just 5 km to go. His reward: the Gruppo Cassa Centrale Blue Jersey for the mountains classification, and the eVISO Giro special jersey for the most combative rider.

DATI: “THE BEST DAY OF MY CAREER”

“I’m over the moon. There are so many emotions running through me right now. I’m proud of the work done by the team, and of everything I’ve put in during training. I was confident, because I could feel the legs of my best days, but I didn’t put too much pressure on myself: I was looking for a solid result, and the win came. This is the best day of my career.”

“Not turning pro last year with Cofidis pushed me to work even harder over the winter, and in the end the results have come. And of course, winning ahead of a champion like Tom Pidcock adds extra drive and motivation: it’s shown me that I can be competitive even at a higher level.”

“My dream? Clearly, the WorldTour. I keep believing in it every day. Every win brings happiness, but nothing changes: tomorrow is another day and I’ll throw everything at it again. Maybe today the best legs belonged to Pidcock and Arensman: I’ll be working for our two GC leaders and enjoying this jersey as much as I can, even though I know the next stages suit different types of riders.”

ZANGERLE CLOSE TO A DREAM IN “HIS” INNSBRUCK

After the start was given by Tirolean Governor and current Euregio President Anton Mattle, alongside Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano President Arno Kompatscher and Autonomous Province of Trento Deputy President Achille Spinelli, the first attack of the 2026 Tour of the Alps came as early as km 1.

It was Emanuel Zangerle (Team Vorarlberg) who opened hostilities, first alone, then joined by Josef Dirnbauer (Team Austria) and his own team-mate Tobias Nolde. The trio quickly built their gap, topping out at 4’40” at km 17, before the peloton – driven by the INEOS Grenadiers – began to close them down.

The race came alive over the final 50 km, on the first pass of the Götzens climb: among the leaders, Nolde was dropped, while Zangerle took the KOM points. On the descent the breakaway regrouped, but behind them the pace rose sharply under the impulse of INEOS, with Team Jayco AlUla lending a hand.

On the second pass of Götzens, Nolde was dropped again, this time for good. The peloton, meanwhile, closed hard on the leaders, cresting the top with just a thirty-second gap. Dirnbauer cracked on the following Axams climb, while behind them Ben O’Connor picked up the 2 bonus seconds at the Bonus Sprint.

Zangerle held off the chasers for a few more kilometres – pulled back by Jayco AlUla and INEOS Grenadiers men – before surrendering with 5 km to go. In the closing kilometres, the British squadron tried to pile on the pace over the final kicker, teeing up a finisseur move from Dutchman Thymen Arensman, reeled in a few hundred metres from the finish.

In the sprint on the Rennweg, Tommaso Dati got the better of Tom Pidcock and Florian Stork. For the Team UKYO rider, alongside the Green Jersey came the first Red Jersey Caffè Bocca della Verità as well.

THE EUREGIO RENEWS ITS SHARED COMMITMENT UNDER THE TOUR OF THE ALPS BANNER

Before the stage start, Innsbruck hosted a ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the Tour of the Alps project, attended by the Governor of Land Tirol and current Euregio President Anton Mattle, President of the Province of Bozen/Bolzano Arno Kompatscher, and Deputy President of the Autonomous Province of Trento Achille Spinelli.

The political representatives of the three territories underlined the importance of the Tour of the Alps for the Euregio Tirol–Südtirol–Trentino: an event that, over the years, has built out its international dimension, generating a media value of over 17 million euros in the 2025 edition.

“In the heart of the Alps, almost every stage crosses at least one provincial border. Hardly any other Euregio project makes cross-border cooperation so immediately and powerfully visible. The Tour of the Alps is therefore the Euregio’s sporting flagship,” said Anton Mattle.

For Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano President Arno Kompatscher, “the Tour of the Alps should be tied even more closely to the creation of territorial added value and to tourism development. The entire Euregio, as an economic and living area, benefits from this international visibility.”

“Ten years ago, the Giro del Trentino gave birth to this new high-level international event. Today, the Tour of the Alps stands for the promotion of cycling culture and sustainable mobility, and serves as a model of cooperation for the young people of our lands,” concluded Achille Spinelli.

TOMORROW, THE GC MEN’S FIRST TEST: SUMMIT FINISH IN MARTELL/VAL MARTELLO

Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 21st, the Tour of the Alps leaves Tirol to enter Südtirol/Alto Adige with the summit finish in Martell/Val Martello, the first real test for the climbers and the GC men. After a fast roll-out from Telfs, in Tirol, the 147.5 km of stage 2 serve up the Category 1 KOM of Piller Höhe (9.2 km at 6%), followed by the Category 3 KOM of Reschenpass/Passo Resia (15.8 km at 3.4%). From there, the race drops down the Vinschgau/Val Venosta before the final ascent to Martell/Val Martello: a highly selective finale, already decisive at the 2014 Giro d’Italia when Colombia’s Nairo Quintana soloed clear – taking his first Maglia Rosa in Martell/Val Martello and laying the foundations for his overall victory in the Corsa Rosa. The finish is scheduled between 15:00 and 15:30 CEST.

THE TOUR OF THE ALPS ON TV

Stage 2 of the Tour of the Alps will be broadcast live from 13:30 to 15:30 CEST on Eurosport (Europe and Asia), HBO Max/Discovery+ and TNT Sports (UK), FloSports (US and Canada), X-Sports (Brazil), Rai (Italy and San Marino), ORF (Austria), L’Equipe TV (France, Monaco and Andorra), and Sports5 (Israel). Live streaming will also be available via the 'Age of Sports' YouTube channel (Infront) in Africa, South America (excluding Brazil), Oceania, and parts of Asia, including Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia.