Tom Pidcock raced to second place at the Giro dell’Emilia Granarolo, coming within three seconds of victory after another explosive finale on the iconic San Luca climb.

The 109th edition of the Italian classic covered 197.9 kilometres from Ferrara to Bologna, with five ascents of San Luca providing the decisive battleground.

Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team took responsibility from the early kilometres and executed a clear plan throughout the day. Xabier Azparren controlled the opening flat section before Milan Vader took over, while Mark Donovan helped position the team heading towards the decisive part of the race.

Once onto the San Luca circuit, Marcel Camprubí was immediately on the offensive, joining the first dangerous move on the opening ascent. The attack forced the other teams to react before the race regrouped and the expected selection began to take shape.

Pidcock remained at the centre of the action as the group of contenders was progressively reduced over the repeated climbs of San Luca.

The decisive move came ahead of the final ascent, when Davide Piganzoli used Visma | Lease a Bike’s numerical advantage to get clear. Pidcock launched his pursuit on San Luca and rapidly reduced the gap on the steep final slopes, but Piganzoli held on to win by just three seconds, with Oscar Onley taking third.

Tom Pidcock:

“I think this week I’ve been focusing on recovering and getting back into the European time zone. But no, I felt good today. The team committed from the start, riding, and on the laps I felt pretty good.

“Just in the end, a shame that I didn’t have the legs to quite catch Piganzoli on the last climb. I felt good. I’m just a bit frustrated. Three years, three times a second. But plenty more racing this week. I think I’m going to race tomorrow as well.”

Sports Director Gabriele Missaglia highlighted the collective performance behind the result.

“The team was in control throughout the day and virtually every rider played his part. Everyone had a specific section of the race where we needed him to work: Xabier in the opening flat kilometres, then Milan, Mark to put us in a good position approaching the climb, and Marcel made exactly the right move by getting into the first attack on the opening ascent of San Luca.

“That could have become a decisive move, but the other teams reacted and brought it back. From there we saw the selection everyone expected and, in the finale, the strength in numbers of our rivals played an important tactical role in deciding the race.

“There is some disappointment because the legs were clearly there and, with Tom, we came extremely close to winning. Sometimes races are decided by these kinds of team dynamics. But we can take a lot from the way we raced today and from Tom’s condition. We are in a good place and now we look ahead to the next races.”

The result is Pidcock’s third consecutive second place at the Giro dell’Emilia and his fifth runner-up finish on the road in 2026, following the Clásica Jaén, Milano–Sanremo, Stage 1 of the Tour of the Alps and Eschborn–Frankfurt.

Alongside those near misses, Pidcock has already collected seven victories across road and mountain bike in 2026, underlining the consistency of a season that has seen him perform at the sharp end across disciplines and terrain.

With his condition confirmed on San Luca, Pidcock and Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team now turn their attention to the next races of the Italian autumn campaign.