The stage to Dutch rider Gal and the final classification to Brazilian Henrique Bravo. This is how the 62nd Giro delle Valle d'Aosta comes to a close. "Today I had no intention of attacking. We worked with the team to defend the leader's position," these were Bravo's first words, and in the coming weeks we will see him at the Tour de l'Avenir and then at the World Championships. "Today I felt good and I imagined that Ramirez would try to attack me on the final climb," he says in his (almost) perfect Italian. 

An incandescent finale for the fourth stage of the Aosta Valley with finish in Breuil Cervinia. The real surprise? Gal, very active since the first stage, present in all the most important moves, and with this victory he crowns a season full of strong placings. 

The Dutch rider from the Metec team was the protagonist of the day's breakaway with his compatriot Wouter Toussaint (Lotto) and Frenchman Ugo Fabries (UAE). A comeback for Toussaint who claimed the mountain prize at Col Saint Pantaléon, to shake off any doubts about his condition, recently successfully operated on for a brain tumor, and at the Aosta Valley just two points behind the leader of the mountain classification led by Finnish rider Kasper Borremans. 

The final stage was decided on the long climb to Breuil Cervinia. Gal attacks and creates a gap, he who among his recent results boasts victory in the national time trial championship. About ten kilometers from the finish, Pablo Mateo Ramirez (UAE), second in the standings, launches his attack, but Bravo's response is immediate. The two captains begin their race, eating up seconds on Gal. It's the final dance, but with many contenders including Friedl (Red Bull), Kevin Biehl (General Store) and Cattani (Technipes). 
An Aosta Valley with a positive balance for General Store with two men in the top ten positions, Biehl (fifth) and Bosio (ninth). "We knew we could fight for the classification with Danish Kevin Biehl, who at the Giro Next Gen was caught up in crashes in the early stages. He has confirmed himself as a top-level athlete," says General Store manager Daniele Calosso. "We are very satisfied with the performance of Tommaso Bosio, a young rider in his second year in the category and whom we will also see in the Poggiana and Capodarco classics." And Bosio is in the sights of national team coach Marino Amadori, who will be in Saint Christophe on Saturday to finalize the national roster for the Tour de l'Avenir. Born in Genoa, 165 centimeters tall and weighing 51 kilos, Bosio lives in Tortona, having grown up in local youth teams in the memory of Fausto Coppi. "My father Filippo raced as an amateur cyclist and the passion for this sport comes from him," says Bosio. "I raced in MTB and cyclocross, from 2025 I dedicate myself entirely to road racing." A high school diploma, now he is studying to become a nutritionist biologist. In the Bosio household, cycling is talked about 24 hours a day with his younger brother Giovanni, "newly crowned Italian junior MTB champion," says Tommaso proudly. Free time? When he's in training camp with his General Store teammates in Sant'Ambrogio in Valpolicella, he also takes care of... livestock. "We have six chickens to have fresh eggs for breakfast in the morning," says Biehl, "and two are beautiful, really competition-grade." 

On coach Amadori's agenda, besides Bosio ("a national team call-up would be nice," he says), there is also the name of Lombard Riccardo Barbuto, a season of comeback for the winner of the Nove Colli with excellent seasonal placings. "An interesting athlete, Barbuto, who interests us very much. We made him a proposal and if he accepts he could join Technipes starting August 1st," says Francesco Chicchi, the manager of the Emilian team and former world champion. The balance of this Aosta Valley? "All in all positive. We aimed for a top five classification. We compete against Devo teams. The Aosta Valley is a tough race, but anyone who wants to do this job must pass through here." First Italian with eighth place Alessandro Cattani, heading to Livigno in two days to prepare for the Tour de l'Avenir where he will find his teammate already in the national colors, Anastasia. 

An Aosta Valley difficult to control with five athletes per team at the start. "We came to win, knowing that Max Bock is in good condition," says Cesare Benedetti, manager of Red Bull. "Without the use of radios everything becomes more difficult and with only five athletes allowed per team, the race is hard to control. Bock gave a lot during the second stage, feeling a bit of fatigue the next day." At Cervinia the German confirmed himself in third position. "Gustave Blanc too, in his first year in the category, is learning," says Benedetti. "An athlete who reads the race and has earned himself the white jersey as best young rider." An Aosta Valley with the talents who in the coming weeks will battle it out at the Tour de l'Avenir, at the Canadian World Championships and at the European championships in Slovenia. 

STAGE RESULTS

1 Gal Ryan Metec-SOLARWATT p/b Mantel 02:44:35

2 Buck Jones Huw Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Cyclisme + 51

3 Driesen Niels Lotto-Groupe Wanty + 58

4 Ramírez Mateo UAE Team Emirates Gen-Z + 58

5 Cattani Alessandro Team Technipes #inEmiliaRomagna Caffè Borbone + 58

6 Bravo Henrique Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team + 58

7 Bock Max Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies + 01:00

8 Biehl Kevin General Store-Essegibi-F.Ili Curia + 01:00

9 Friedl Anatol Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies + 01:32

10 Fabries Ugo UAE Team Emirates Gen-Z + 01:32

11 O'Brien Finn Development Team Picnic PostNL + 01:34

12 Masciarelli Stefano SC Padovani Polo Cherry Bank + 01:52

13 Howell Adam Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Cyclisme + 01:52

14 Zumstein Melk V.C.Mendrisio + 01:52

15 Blanc Gustave Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe Rookies + 01:56