Kuss solos to victory on Giro's brutal queen stage and Vingegaard stays in pink

ALLEGHE, Italy (AP) — American rider Sepp Kuss soloed to victory on the toughest stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday, while Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Jonas Vingegaard remained firmly in the overall lead heading into the final two days.

The so-called queen stage had more than 5,000 meters of climbing across six tough ascents through the stunning Dolomites.

That included the mighty Passo Giau, the highest point of this year’s race and so brutal it was ranked “hors categorie” — defying categorization.

Kuss, who had been part of the day’s breakaway, crossed the line at the summit finish of Alleghe 13 seconds ahead of Derek Gee-West to complete the Grand Tour trilogy, having won stages in the Tour de France and Spanish Vuelta, where he also finished first overall in 2023.

“To be honest, (the stage win) was never the primary goal," Kuss said. "The main challenge was to win the pink jersey for Jonas and so far it’s looking good. When they told me the other night that I had the chance to go in the break I knew I had to seize the opportunity ... it’s something I always dreamt of.”

Giulio Ciccone was third, 36 seconds behind Kuss and just ahead of Felix Gall and Vingegaard.

Ciccone attacked on the descent of the penultimate climb and had an advantage of more than a minute on his breakaway companions at the start of the final ascent but the Italian was caught by Kuss with just over two kilometers remaining of the 151-kilometer (94-mile) route.

“At the bottom ... I thought, ‘Well it’s over,’ and to be honest I was a bit demotivated because I thought it was over but I just tried to focus on doing the fastest climb possible,” Kuss said. “Lots of suffering because I knew I had to push it all the way to the line.

"But I knew my mother was going to be standing 500 meters from the finish and big shout out to her and my family because I really only see them a few weeks every year and it’s hard to stay in contact with everybody that’s far away. So, it was really nice to have her there.”

Vingegaard maintained his overall lead of 4 minutes, 3 seconds clear of Felix Gall. Jai Hindley moved into third, just over a minute further back.

“Oh, I’m very proud. Sepp is just such a good guy,” Vingegaard said. "He’s the one guy you would always say he deserves it the most and he’s the guy who would never ask for anything and that he then takes the stage is just incredible.

“He's been there every time I won a Grand Tour so it shows how important he is. That I can give just a little bit back to him. ... it’s just something that I’m really happy about.”

The winner of the Giro d’Italia will be all but decided on Saturday’s penultimate stage before the largely processional ride to Rome the following day.

The 20th stage is a 200-kilometer (124-mile) route from Gemona del Friuli that has three classified climbs, including the top-category ascent to the finish in Piancavallo.

The women’s Giro starts on Saturday and ends on June 7.

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

Riders pedal during the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Feltre to Alleghe, Italy, Friday, May 29, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

United States' Sepp Kuss of Team Visma | Lease A Bike reacts after winning the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Feltre to Alleghe, Italy, Friday, May 29, 2026. (Gian Mattia D'Alberto/LaPresse via AP)

Riders pedal during the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Feltre to Alleghe, Italy, Friday, May 29, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

The pink jersey Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard Hansen of Team Visma | Lease A Bike reacts as he finishes the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Feltre to Alleghe, Italy, Friday, May 29, 2026. (Gian Mattia D'Alberto/LaPresse via AP)

United States' Sepp Kuss of Team Visma | Lease A Bike celebrates winning the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Feltre to Alleghe, Italy, Friday, May 29, 2026. (Gian Mattia D'Alberto/LaPresse via AP)

“The Great American State Fair” is a series of concerts, exhibits, tributes and other programs scheduled to take place June 25 to July 10 on Washington’s National Mall. It was organized by Freedom 250, which is billed as a nonpartisan organization but was launched last year by President Donald Trump and is headed by a Trump State Department appointee from his first term, the businessman-philanthropist Keith Krach.

On Wednesday, Freedom 250 announced that Bret Michaels, the Commodores and Martina McBride would be among the musical performers, some of whom were slated for an “I Love the ’90s” show on June 26.

But by late Thursday, Michaels, the Commodores and McBride had dropped out, as did Morris Day and Young MC.

Michaels and others have said that they were misled about the theme of the shows or were otherwise wary of being caught up in a political fight. In an Instagram post, Michaels wrote that he had thought his show would be a chance to “honor our veterans, active military, first responders, teachers and hardworking Americans from all walks of life.” But he concluded that the event had “evolved into something much more divisive” and referred to “threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable.”

McBride also issued an Instagram statement, saying she had been “presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.” Young MC expressed similar sentiments in an Instagram post, while the Commodores released a brief statement saying they chose “not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.”

As of Friday morning, performers still expected to appear include Flo Rida, Vanilla Ice and Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli, the Grammy-winning duo from the late 1980s-early 1990s who were discredited after reports that Morvan and fellow front man Rob Pilatus did not sing on the records and lip-synced on stage. (The actual singers, including sisters Jodie and Linda Rocco, told The Associated Press that they were not invited).

Morvan told the AP in an emailed statement that he was "here to entertain and unite people, not divide them.”

"Let’s celebrate life & music and take a trip down memory lane,” he said.

A representative for Vanilla Ice told the AP in an email that the “Ice Ice Baby” rapper was “proud to help celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!"

"Everyone is welcome to attend and celebrate USA’s Birthday and our Freedom!” the representative said.

A Flo Rida representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Freedom 250 organizers have yet to respond to AP requests for comment. Freedom 250 spokeswoman Rachel Reisner told The New York Times in a statement that “Freedom 250 is focused on our signature celebrations and events that honor our history and engage all Americans.”

Trump, a Republican, has some prominent supporters in the entertainment industry, including Sylvester Stallone and Nicki Minaj, but many more have shunned him. Taylor Swift, Robert De Niro,Billie Eilish and Bruce Springsteen are among those who have endorsed Democrats and/or condemned Trump, while Elton John, Kenny Loggins and others have objected to their music being used for Trump rallies or Trump videos. After the president ousted the leadership last year at the Kennedy Center and had his own name placed on the building’s facade, numerous artists, including Bela Fleck, Renée Fleming and Issa Rae, called off scheduled appearances.

FILE - Martina McBride performs, Oct. 28, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Young MC performs during the "I Love The 90's" tour on Aug. 7, 2022, at RiverEdge Park in Aurora, Ill. (Photo by Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 1992 file photo, Fabrice Morvan, left, and Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli perform during the taping of the Arsenio Hall Show in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Craig Fujii, File)

FILE - Singer Brett Michaels performs at halftime of an NFL football game between the Detroit Lions and the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., Sept. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)