Stage 14 invited the sprinters in the Giro d’Italia peloton to an additional mass sprint battle on the roads of Italy. Race organizer RCS Sport had designed an almost pancake flat 195-kilometer route, from Treviso in Italy to Nova Gorica in Slovenia, for stage 14 of Giro d’Italia 2025. The stage would include three short, but steep, Category 4 hill climbs in the final part of the race. 

Contrary to its name, the Saver (Category 4) climb would likely not prove to be a saver for any sprinters in the peloton, and they would need to hang on to the peloton with the tips of their nails to avoid getting dropped, which would likely cause them to miss out on a chance to shine in a memorable sprint finish.

The geographical region is known for its large battles of historic wars and more than 100,000 soldiers have been laid to rest below giant monuments. Ernest Hemmingway’s Farewell to Arms is inspired by the famous author’s own experiences on Italian soil during the First World War. The stage 14 start town of Treviso is known for Pinarello bikes, Benetton clothing, as well as DeLonghi and Illy coffee machines.

Yesterday’s stage 13 had culminated in a spectacular sprint finish, where Denmark’s Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) took his fourth stage victory in this year’s Giro and again proved he’s the most powerful rider in the peloton. Laughing, Pedersen explained how teammates had tossed whipped cream at him while celebrating the stage victory in the evening. Pedersen smilingly also promised to repay the favor after having helped his teammates win stages in future races.

Mads Pedersen, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Casper van Uden (Team Picnic-PostNL), and Olav Kooij (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) were some of the sprinters with the greatest chances of success in today’s stage 14.

The Ineos-Grenadiers riders were showing off their brand-new limited edition Pinarello Dogma bikes at the start line of stage 14, while applauding Fausto Pinarello himself for the beautiful bike design. 

A rather interesting eleven-man group broke away from the main peloton shortly after the start of the stage. The breakaway group featured Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Fabio van den Bossche (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Dries de Bondt (Decathlon-AG2R), Stan Dewulf (Decathlon-AG2R), Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ), Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarche-Wanty), Josef Cerny (Soudal-QuickStep), Luke Lamperti (Soudal-QuickStep), Alex Edmondson (Picnic-PostNL), and not least Wout van Aert (Team Visma-Lease a Bike). 

As several teams in the main peloton were eager to close the gap to the front group, its advantage was only eleven seconds with 178 kilometers remaining. The Wild Card teams had missed the train when it left the station, so they needed a reset and a new breakaway group to form the long breakaway of the day. 

A couple of Ineos-Grenadiers riders were obviously eager to show their new Pinarello Dogma bikes and delivered the final effort to reel in the attack group.

Asgreen launched a counterattack while hoping his effort would be more fruitful this time. He was joined by Clement Davy (Groupama-FDJ), Louis Meintjes (Intermarche-Wanty), Mirco Maestri (Team Polti-VisitMalta), and Martin Marcellusi (VF Group – Bardiani CSF - Faizane).

Dries de Bondt tried to make the leap to the new breakaway group in solo fashion, but did not succeed. The peloton raced through Oderzo, which is one of the most important Roman cities in the Italian region of Veneto.

While Louis Meintjes had dropped back to the main peloton, the remaining four frontmen pressed on and had fought their way to a lead of 01:20 minutes with 143 kilometers left of the stage. It had started raining and the weather conditions were somewhat chilly. Riders from Alpecin-Deceuninck and Visma-Lease a Bike were spearheading the chase effort in the main peloton.

The front quartet had increased its lead to 01:30 minutes with 95 kilometers of racing remaining. The teams with sprint finish ambitions in the main peloton were still keeping the breakaway group on a tight leash and at this point it still appeared the stage would be decided in a sprint finish in the streets of Nova Gorica, Slovenia.

The riders entered Slovenia with 45.7 kilometers left of stage 14. Slovenian riders Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Matevz Govekar (Bahrain-Victorious) were enjoying the opportunity to race in a high-profile race on home soil. Vineyards dominated the scenic green hills. 

While Kasper Asgreen had led the front group, Joshua Tarling and Ben Turner led the main peloton across the summit of the first Category 4 climb of the day. They were closely followed by Primoz Roglic and the rest of the peloton. Meanwhile, Clement Davy had been dropped from the front group and the remaining breakaway optimists were racing at a very fast pace.

A crash occurred on the cobbled streets of a small town with 22.7 kilometers left. The crash brought down noteworthy riders, including Mads Pedersen, Isaac del Toro, Giulio Ciccone, Pello Bilbao, Ben Turner, and Egan Bernal.

The front group reached the Saver climb, though it would not save any riders in today’s stage even after the crash. Asgreen led the front trio on the uphill stretch, while Team Visma-Lease a Bike riders were leading the main peloton up the climb. Further back Mathias Vacek and Mads Pedersen were both waiting for Giulio Ciccone.

The roads were very slippery following the rain. They featured plenty of curves and road furniture too, which increased the chances of success for the front trio. The riders entered the final lap with fourteen kilometers left.

Multiple groups were chasing hard to rejoin the reduced main peloton group before the finish line to avoid time losses because of the crash. Chasers in chase groups included Roglic, Bernal, Michael Storer, Juan Ayuso, Antonio Tiberi, and Giulio Ciccone. 

The riders were approaching the final climb of the stage. The climb was a short, but steep Category 4 climb. Del Toro almost missed a turn with nine kilometers left.

The front group approached the top of the final summit with a lead of fourteen seconds. Approximately eight kilometers remained. Asgreen was leading the group and attacked before the summit.

Kasper Asgreen attacked solo from the front trio for EF Education-EasyPost with six kilometers left. His two Italian breakaway companions proved unable to follow and it was now Asgreen vs the first peloton group, where strong sprinters were warming up their internal engines for a mass sprint effort.

Asgreen was still firing on all engines ahead of the main peloton with three kilometers left to race before the finish line. Denmark’s Asgreen was fifteen seconds ahead of the chasers. He was still ahead with two and one kilometers left.

Asgreen crossed the finish line in solo fashion as winner of stage 14 of Giro d’Italia 2025 for Team EF Education-EasyPost. What a brilliant feat by the strong Dane from Kolding who had restored his career after his move to EF Education. Kaden Groves won the sprint from the first peloton group to finish second in today’s stage, while Olav Kooij completed the stage podium.

General classification favorites were also present in the first peloton group and Thomas Pidcock finished eighth, Rihard Carapaz ninth, Isaac del Toro fifteenth, and Simon Yates sixteenth.

“When it works out its all worth it so I’m super happy. The team gave me permission to try my own luck today and I am very grateful for that,” stage winner Asgreen told Roadcycling.com.

“I’ve tried it before, and I know that once you get into the second half of a Grand Tour then you can make it as everyone has got tired legs. The circuit was pretty technical in the end phase, and I am now one step closer to completing my Grand Tour stage win hattrick,” a smiling and proud Asgreen explained to Roadcycling.com.

Isaac del Toro remains general classification leader following stage 14. Simon Yates is second in the GC, 01:20 minutes behind del Toro. Juan Ayuso is now in third place, 01:26 minutes back, while Richard Carapaz advanced to fourth, 02:07 behind the GC leader. Primoz Roglic is fifth, Antonio Tiberi eighth, while Egan Bernal is still ninth, but now 03:38 minutes behind the race leader.

The 2025 Giro d’Italia will continue Sunday with stage 15 – a 219-kilometer stage in mountainous terrain on a route from Fiume Veneto to Asiago. The stage will include one Category 4 climb, one Category 1 climb mid-stage, as well as one Category 2 climb in the final part of the stage.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete news and coverage from Giro d’Italia 2025.