Vingegaard conquers Blockhaus mountain for first Giro d'Italia stage win

BLOCKHAUS, Italy (AP) — Jonas Vingegaard surged away from the peloton to win on the Blockhaus peak in the seventh stage of the Giro d'Italia on Friday and cut into Afonso Eulálio's overall lead.

Vingegaard pushed on alone on the final stretch of the mountain to claim his first career Giro stage win by 13 seconds from Felix Gall. No other rider finished within a minute. The 2022 Giro winner Jai Hindley was third fastest, 1 minute, 2 seconds off Vingegaard.

“Today we just wanted to go for the win and I’m extremely happy that I could finish it off. My teammates they did an amazing job today and I’m happy that I can really pay it off," Vingegaard said after what he called a “very tough climb” battling headwinds.

“I’m definitely happy that I could take back some time and that was a good day for me.”

The at times wet and windy stage lasted over six hours and was the toughest test yet for the general classification contenders.

The Giro's longest stage at 245 kilometers (152 miles) took the peloton from the coastal city of Formia high into the Apennine mountains.

Eulálio took the pink jersey on Wednesday but struggled on the Blockhaus and lost contact with the leaders with just under six kilometers (four miles) to go.

He finished nearly three minutes down on Vingegaard and remains in the lead but with his advantage cut to 3 minutes, 17 seconds. Gall is 17 seconds further back in third.

The 109th men’s Giro ends on May 31 in Rome.

The women’s Giro runs from May 30-June 7 with Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini as the defending champion.

AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard is cheered by fans as he pedals on his way to win the 7th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Formia to Blockhaus, Italy, Friday May 15, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard celebrates winning the 7th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Formia to Blockhaus, Italy, Friday May 15, 2026. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides during stage 7 of the Giro d'Italia cycling race from Formia to Blockhaus, Italy, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides past a fan waving an Italian flag, during the 7th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Formia to Blockhaus, Italy, Friday May 15, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Africa’s top public health body on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far.

The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for Disease Control ​and Prevention said in a statement.

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.

“Four deaths have been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, pending confirmation,” the agency said, referring to the capital of Ituri province, near the border with Uganda.

It said preliminary laboratory results had detected the Ebola virus in 13 of 20 samples. The results suggest a non-Ebola Zaire strain of the virus with sequencing ongoing to further characterize the strain, the agency said. The Ebola Zaire strain has been prominent in Congo's past outbreaks.

The World Health Organization said last year that Congo has a stockpile of treatments and some 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine. However, the vaccine is effective against the Ebola Zaire strain, it said.

The Africa CDC said results confirming the strain in the new outbreak are expected within 24 hours.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization director-general, told reporters Friday that the WHO last week sent a team to help Congo investigate the outbreak and collect samples. While initial results did not confirm Ebola, a new analysis on Thursday did, he said.

Congo has “a strong track record in Ebola response and control,” Tedros said, adding that the WHO is releasing $500,000 to aid Congo’s response.

The latest outbreak comes around five months after Congo’s last Ebola outbreak was declared over after 43 deaths.

Ituri is in a remote eastern part of Congo characterized by poor road networks, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.

Africa CDC said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing and control challenges.

The proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan also raises concerns, it said.

The agency said it is convening an urgent coordination meeting Friday with health authorities from Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, together with key partners including U.N. agencies and other countries.

“The meeting will focus on immediate response priorities, cross-border coordination, surveillance, laboratory support, infection prevention and control, risk communication, safe and dignified burials, and resource mobilization,” it said.

This is the 17th outbreak in Congo since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976. An Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo killed more than 1,000 people. The WHO said that outbreak was characterized by the Ebola Zaire strain.

An earlier outbreak that swept across West Africa from 2014 to 2016 also killed more than 11,000 people.

The new outbreak will create more worry for the Central African country, which has been battling various armed groups in the east, including the M23 rebel group, which launched a rapid assault in January last year and has since occupied key cities.

Ituri in particular is also battling violence from the Allied Democratic Force, an Islamic State-linked militant group which has killed dozens there and in other parts of the east.

Congo, Africa's second-largest country by land area, often faces logistical challenges in responding to disease outbreaks. During last year's outbreak, which lasted three months, the World Health Organization initially faced significant challenges in delivering vaccines due to limited access and scarce funds.

Dr. Gabriel Nsakala, a professor of public health who has been involved in past Ebola outbreak responses in Congo, said the country and health workers on the ground have a high level of experience, in addition to existing infrastructure such as laboratories.

“In terms of training, people already know what they can do. Now, the expertise and equipment need to be delivered quickly,” Nsakala added.

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Associated Press writers Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria; Saleh Mwanamilongo in Bonn, Germany; Mark Banchereau in Dakar, Senegal; and Mike Stobbe in New York City contributed.

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The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, July 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

FILE - Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim kept in an isolation tent in Beni, Congo, July 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

FILE - A health worker sprays disinfectant on his colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, Sept 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro, File)

FILE - Health workers walk with a boy suspected of having the Ebola virus at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, Sept 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro, File)