Double stage winner Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) couldn't add to his tally of triumphs at the Giro d'Italia on stage 4 in Lecce, but he did retain the race lead after the race's first stage back on home ground.
The Dane, who won stages 1 and 3 in Albania, finished fourth on the mass bunch sprint in the Apulian city, coming in just behind stage winner Casper Van Uden (Picnic-PostNL).
Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease A Bike) and Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling) made it an all-Dutch podium, preventing maglia rosa Pedersen from picking up any bonus seconds at the finish and extending his overall race lead.
Pedersen will spend at least another stage – Wednesday's hilly 151km stage 5 to Matera – in the pink jersey as race leader, continuing with a seven-second advantage to second-placed man Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
The Slovenian had taken the race lead by a single second in the stage 2 time trial before ceding it again on stage 3 as Pedersen retook pink with a 10-second time bonus for the win. He snagged two seconds at the Red Bull kilometre midway through stage 4 to close in on the Dane.
Pedersen's lead-out man, Mathias Vacek, holds third place overall at 14 seconds down.
The remainder of the top of the general classification stayed the same as the peloton finished together as one in Lecce. Behind Vacek lies Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in fourth at 21 seconds.
McNulty's teammate and team leader, Juan Ayuso, is sixth at 25 seconds. Another UAE rider, young Mexican Isaac Del Toro, moves up to fourth place at 22 seconds, having grabbed four bonus seconds just ahead of Roglič.
Further back, Max Poole (Picnic-PostNL) is seventh at 33 seconds, one second up on Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious), while Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) in ninth at 36 seconds.
Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) rounds out the top ten, 40 seconds off the lead. All riders down to Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in 21st place remain within a minute of Pedersen, with the Colombian national champion 57 seconds down.
A total of 21 riders are under one minute to Pedersen, including Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) at 46 seconds, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) at 51 seconds, and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) at 57 seconds.
Giro d'Italia GC standings
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Giro d'Italia Classifications
These are the jersey classifications at the 2025 Giro d'Italia:
Click here for a more comprehensive rundown of all the classifications and prize money, including the intermediate sprints prize and the fighting spirit prize.
Maglia rosa – The pink jersey is worn by the overall race leader on the general classification, who has completed the stages in the lowest accumulated time.
Maglia ciclamino – The cyclamen jersey indicates the points classification leader. Riders accrue points each stage at the two intermediate sprints and at stage finishes. The rider with the most points leads the ranking and wears the cyclamen jersey.
Maglia azzurra – The blue jersey is for the mountain classification. Points are handed out to the first riders over specific categorised hills and mountain climbs during the Giro. The highest and steepest mountains award the most points. The rider with the most points leads the ranking and wears the blue jersey.
Maglia bianca – The white jersey is for the leader of the best young rider classification. It is calculated b[based on the time races, like the maglia rosa, but only riders aged 25 or under are eligible to win it and wear it.
