'This is our DNA as a team' - Valgren's aggressive racing pays off for EF at Tirreno-Adriatico

Michael Valgren admitted that he didn't expect to hold on to take his first victory in five years on the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in Mombaroccio. The 34-year-old was the last man remaining from a strong breakaway and held off the chasing Isaac del Toro and Matteo Jorgenson to take the ninth victory of his professional career.

“Oh, yeah, obviously, I feel amazing. You know, this is what we train for, to win. Today, I just had amazing legs, so to win such a hard stage is pretty surprising, but it's nice. I'm happy,” Valgren told CyclingProNet.

It marks the Dane’s first victory since 2021, when he won the Coppa Sabatini on Italian soil, just a day after winning the Giro della Toscana. 

Valgren signalled his strength and intent, pushing clear on the first ascent of the Santuario Beato Sante, and he had an excellent companion in former two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor).

“I had really good legs, I felt it quite early, from the beginning, I was attacking it, then when I was in the breakaway, I was like trying to take it easy, you know, and then, yeah, I could see the peloton was coming from behind, so I knew I had to go," explained Valgren.

Valgren left Alaphilippe behind with just under 6km remaining at the foot of the final ascent to the Santuario Beato Sante, and didn’t look back.

“Julian [Alaphilippe] came with me, and we worked well together and then in the end, I had a little bit more left in the tank, luckily enough to stay away,” said Valgren.

Richard Carapaz also launched an attack from the GC group with just over 3km remaining, and Valgren explained how he expected to be caught, and the plan was to be up the road to help Ben Healy in the GC battle at the finish. 

“Yeah, basically the plan was to be in front because we thought the breakaway would be caught, you know, and then we would have the one guy more in the final to help Ben, because it was a hard day,” explained Valgren.

Ultimately, Valgren was never caught, and he believes that this combative racing style is deep-rooted in EF Education-EasyPost’s identity as a team.

“
In the end, yeah, they didn't catch me, so that was good for me, you know, sometimes that's the outcome. This is what our DNA is as a team, I think we always try to be creative and look for more opportunities to win, and today I took that opportunity.”

Valgren’s victory doubled EF Education’s win total for the 2026 in quick fashion after Luke Lamperti sprinted to victory on the opening stage of Paris-Nice on Sunday.