Tommaso Dati (Team UKYO) won Tour of the Alps 2026 stage 1 (144,3 Km from Innsbruck to Innsbruck), ahead of Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling). Tommaso Dati is also the first Melinda Green Jersey, leading the General Classification.
A sprint finish in the opening stage of the Tour of the Alps, starting and ending in the Tirolean capital: the Team UKYO rider beats Tom Pidcock and Florian Stork on the Rennweg, sealing the finest day of his career. Tomorrow, the GC men face their first real test: the uphill finish to Martell/Val Martello
Under April’s still-uncertain skies, among the Tirolean 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 Davide 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.”
STAGE 1 (Innsbruck – Innsbruck, 144,3 Km) – STAGE CLASSIFICATION
- Tommaso Dati (Team UKYO)
- Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5)
- Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Team)
- Gabriele Bessega (Team Polti Visitmalta)
- Federico Iacomoni (Team UKYO)
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
- Tommaso Dati (Team UKYO)
- Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) +0:04
- Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Team) +0:06
