Vingegaard keeps overall lead as Valgren wins Giro stage and celebrates with son's lucky charm

ANDALO, Italy (AP) — A few meters from the finish line, Michael Valgren pulled his son's lucky charm from his back pocket and raised it high as he cruised to victory in the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia for the best win of his career on Wednesday.

Jonas Vingegaard, meanwhile, finished safely with the peloton to protect his overall lead at the Grand Tour race.

Valgren explained his celebration by saying his son had given him a Pokémon chip in the team colors.

It was the first Giro win — and first Grand Tour win — for the 34-year-old Danish rider, who broke away from the leading group with about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) to go in a perfectly timed run.

“This was missing from my resume. I think I deserved this," Valgren said. "I think I’ve always said it to someone in the media: My career has been pretty good, but I needed this Grand Tour stage win.”

It was an uneventful stage for Vingegaard, who maintain his overall lead of more than four minutes.

Wednesday’s stage took riders back to Italy in a 202-kilometer (126-mile) route from Cassano d’Adda to Andalo. The 16th stage won by Vingegaard on Tuesday crossed the border into Switzerland.

In Thursday's 18th stage, riders will stay in Italy to face an undulating route from start to finish.

The Giro ends on Sunday in Rome. The women’s Giro is from May 30 to June 7.

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

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard wears the pink jersey of the race overall leader following stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia cycling race from Cassano D'Adda to Andalo, Italy, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (Gianmattia D'Albertoi/LaPresse via AP) CORRECTION: race title corrected to overall leader only instead of him winning 17th stage

Denmark's Michael Valgren celebrates winning the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race from Cassano D'Adda to Andalo, Italy, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (Gianmattia D'Albertoi/LaPresse via AP)

Denmark's Michael Valgren celebrates winning the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race from Cassano D'Adda to Andalo, Italy, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (Gianmattia D'Albertoi/LaPresse via AP)

Denmark's Michael Valgren celebrates winning the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race from Cassano D'Adda to Andalo, Italy, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (Gianmattia D'Albertoi/LaPresse via AP)

Denmark's Michael Valgren celebrates winning the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race from Cassano D'Adda to Andalo, Italy, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (Gianmattia D'Albertoi/LaPresse via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alabama on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to use a congressional map favoring Republicans in this year's elections, despite a lower court's ruling that the redistricting plan intentionally discriminates against Black people.

The state's Republican leadership filed an emergency appeal with the justices a day after a three-judge court refused to let the state use a map it adopted three years ago that has a majority Black population in just one of its seven congressional districts.

The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map that was put in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where Black residents comprise a majority or close to it.

Attorney General Steve Marshall told the court that the state did not intentionally discriminate against Black residents and should be allowed to hold elections this year under a map chosen by lawmakers, not judges.

The appeal is the latest development in the fallout from last month's Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana and weakened the federal Voting Rights Act. That ruling has led Republicans in several Southern states, including Alabama, to take steps to reshape voting districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.

The redistricting frenzy is part of a broader push by President Donald Trump to try to hold on to Republicans’ slim House majority in the November elections.

The Alabama cases stretches back several years. The three-judge panel in 2023 ruled that a map drawn by Republican state lawmakers intentionally diluted the voting power of Black citizens. The court said the state, which is about 27% Black, should have two districts where Black voters are the majority or close to it. The court-selected map was used in 2024.

After the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Louisiana case, Alabama officials moved to implement the 2023 state-drawn map. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority agreed to lift the injunction that had blocked the map’s use and sent the case back to the three-judge panel for reconsideration in light of the Louisiana ruling.

In the meantime, voters cast ballots in Alabama’s May 19 primaries, and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey set new special primaries for Aug. 11 in four congressional districts affected by the map switch.

Upon further review, the judicial panel said it was standing behind its initial finding that there was “undisputed evidence” of intentional racial discrimination, a holding that was independent of and unaffected by the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act.

It said the special congressional primaries should instead proceed under the previous court-approved districts.

The use of the court-ordered map led to the 2024 election of U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. State Republicans are seeking to use a map that would give the GOP an opportunity to reclaim the south Alabama seat.

The state is asking for Supreme Court action by Monday as it makes preparations for the special vote in August.

This story has been corrected to show the Alabama primaries were May 19, not May 11.

Associated Press writer Kim Chandler contributed to this report from Montgomery, Ala.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

FILE - Shomari Figures, who is running for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

A statue titled the "Authority of Law" sits in front of the Supreme Court on Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)