New father Michael Valgren shook off other members of a long breakaway and resisted the pursuit of the big guns to win the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Friday as Isaac Del Toro reclaimed the overall lead.
Valgren, a Dane who rides for EF Education, had not won since a severe crash in 2022.
"It's unbelievable. We all worked so hard for this," Valgren said at the finish. "I just had a baby one month ago, so this is for them and for the team. For me it's just... I'm speechless."
Valgren joined an early break on a hilly 184km ride through the Italian Marche from Marotta-Mondolfo to Mombaroccio.
He pulled away from the only other survivor, 33-year-old French veteran Julian Alaphilippe, with five kilometres to go as a diminished group of general classification contenders closed in.
"I had really good legs all day actually, so I wanted to make an early attack and Julian came with me and we worked well together," said Valgren.
"Then in the end, it was such a hard day, pushing all day, but I just had amazing legs and the luck."
It was the 34-year-old Valgren's first win since he broke his pelvis, dislocated a hip and smashed up a knee in 2022. The winner of the Amstel Gold in 2018, his last win was in 2021 when he took the Giro Della Toscana and then finished third in the road race world championship.
He completed Friday's run in 4hr 43min 33sec.
Del Toro, whose UAE team had powered the pursuit, burst clear of his rivals on the final climb. Only Matteo Jorgensen, an American with Visma-Lease a Bike stayed with the Mexican. They crossed the line 11 seconds back, as Del Toro grabbed second for a six-second bonus.
Overnight leader Giulio Pellizzari was sixth, 30 seconds behind Valgren, and dropped to second overall, 23 seconds behind.