Stage nine of the Giro was the much-anticipated gravel stage. In the finale, riders were challenged with several gravel sectors, good for 30 kilometers of unpaved roads in total. The finish line was set on the iconic Piazza del Campo, also the finishing site of the Strade Bianche.  

The race exploded on the first gravel section of the day: Pieve a Salti. After the early breakaway was caught, the peloton splintered under pressure from Lidl-Trek. Van Aert and team GC leader Simon Yates were always well-positioned near the front. With about 50 kilometers to go, Van Aert surged ahead. The Belgian was initially joined by Egan Bernal, Thymen Arensman, Brandon Rivera, and Del Toro. A little later, Mathias Vacek also bridged across, but Van Aert and Del Toro proved to be the strongest in the race. In the chasing group, Yates rode a solid race and would eventually finish tenth.  

On the Monteaperti climb, Van Aert responded to an attack by Del Toro. Bernal was briefly able to follow their pace but had to let go not long after. Van Aert and Del Toro stuck closely together, riding together toward Siena. On the steep Via Santa Caterina, Van Aert had to dig deep to stay with his rival. In the final descending meters, he took the lead. The Belgian then powered his way to his first win of the season - and the 50th of his professional career. With this win, Van Aert also completed the Grand Tour trilogy, having now won a stage in each of the three Grand Tours.  

“This win means so much to me,” said an emotional Van Aert afterward. “I don’t need to tell people how hard I’ve worked to get back to this level. It’s been a long journey over the past few months. This is more than just a victory - it’s the result of months of hard work. At times during the race, I was really struggling. Isaac rode an incredible race, and I want to congratulate him for that. I knew I had to come out of the final corner in first position, and I managed to do just that.”  

“It’s extra special to take the win right here,” Van Aert added. “This is where it all started for me in the 2018 Strade Bianche. It’s where I first showed what I could do at the highest level. Two years later, I won Strade Bianche. So this is a beautiful place to take a stage win. It feels really, really good.”