Benoît Cosnefroy takes podium spot at the Giro del Veneto

Benoît Cosnefroy began the final week of the season in great shape for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the Frenchman taking third place at the Giro del Veneto.

After an attritional afternoon in the saddle, Cosnefroy took his podium place in an uphill sprint to the line in Vicenze. There, it was the Emirati squad’s former rider, Alessandro Covi, who took a much-deserved victory for Jayco AlUla.

Behind the popular Italian, Anthon Charmig sneaked second place for Uno-X Mobility, leading home Cosnefroy in third. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG man produced a fast finish to repay his teammates’ work from earlier in the day, which saw the Emirati squad at the head of proceedings for most of the afternoon.

First up, it was Moritz Mauss and Filippo Baroncini who kept a seven-man breakaway on a tight leash. Their work brought the peloton to the foot of the climb to the Santuario di Monte Berico, which would be tackled five times in full as part of the Vicenze circuit. The sixth and final ascent would take the riders to the finish line, a kilometre into the climb.

On the climb itself, Jayco AlUla set the pace on the first ascent, but it was on the third of five full ascents that UAE Team Emirates-XRG demonstrated its strength.

Here, Pavel Sivakov set a fearsome tempo which immediately saw the peloton stretched out into one line. His efforts were backed up by António Morgado on the fourth ascent, before Sivakov returned to deliver a stinging lead-out for the world champion, Brandon McNulty, on the fifth and final full ascent.

Slingshotting from behind his French teammate, McNulty launched a bold and audacious attack 14km from the line, using the climb to his advantage. The man in the rainbow jersey led the front group over the crest of the climb, before continuing his assault on the plateau that followed. The hope was that McNulty could drag a small group clear and contest the finish on the final kick to the line.

As it was, the parcours was not quite difficult enough for such a move to stick, and heading towards the last 5km, the peloton had regrouped at the front of the race. In turn, McNulty’s selflessly changed tact to support Cosnefroy, acknowledging the Frenchman’s strength in such scenarios.

For Cosnefroy, the honour was great to have the reigning world champion offer a helping hand, and the 30-year-old immediately latched onto his wheel. Into the final kilometre, McNulty delivered a solid tempo to pilot the Frenchman into position. It was from the rainbow jersey’s wheel that Cosnefroy delivered his final sprint to the line.

In the end, Covi’s acceleration proved race-winning, but Cosnefroy could be proud of his efforts in landing a spot on the day’s podium.

Cosnefroy: “At the end, I am happy to close this race with a podium, but I would prefer the win. I think with a different strategy on the final climb from me, it could be possible to get the win. But no, I can be happy after the amazing ride from the team today. Every rider did their best and at the end, when you have the world champion for the final kilometre, it is a bit different and I could feel the power going into my legs.

“For me, it is a dream to have Brandon offering me his support in the rainbow jersey. We have one more chance on Sunday, for the last race in Europe, and we will try for the win.”

Giro del Veneto 2026 results:

1. Alessandro Covi (Jayco AlUla) 3:35:52

2. Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) s.t

3. Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t