{"id":198656,"date":"2025-05-28T12:45:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=198656"},"modified":"2025-05-28T12:45:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T12:45:58","slug":"roglic-withdraws-ayuso-cracks-del-toro-falters-on-breathtaking-giro-stage-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/05\/28\/roglic-withdraws-ayuso-cracks-del-toro-falters-on-breathtaking-giro-stage-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Rogli\u010d Withdraws, Ayuso Cracks, del Toro Falters on Breathtaking Giro Stage 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Giro d\u2019Italia has been like a thrilling espionage series, such as the great French show The Bureau<\/em>: Long moments of calm are followed by explosive action, which is followed by new mysteries which lead to surprises that upset the narrative. And at the end? We\u2019ll just have to wait until next Sunday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Tuesday\u2019s stage 16 was a miniature version of the exciting spy series that the race has so far been. And what happened on this stage turned the race topsy-turvy and smashed the well-ordered world of UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG, the team of race leader Isaac del Toro, to pieces.<\/p>\n

Where are the favourites?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Here are the current top three of the 2025 Giro GC after stage 16:<\/p>\n

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  1. Isaac del Toro, UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG 61:31:56<\/li>\n
  2. Simon Yates, Visma\u2013Lease a Bike +0:26<\/li>\n
  3. Richard Carapaz, EF Education\u2013EasyPost +0:31<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You\u2019ll note that del Toro\u2019s teammate \u2013 and pre-race co-favourite \u2013 Juan Ayuso is gone from the rankings. That\u2019s because he weakened badly on the third categorised climb of the day, up to Santa Barbara (12.7 km @ 8.3%, with ramps up to 14%), and finished 35th(!), 14:47 behind the stage winner, Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana). He now sits way down in 17th place, 13:27 adrift.<\/p>\n

    And what about the other pre-race favourite, Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d (Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe), who was going through a bad patch? He crashed for the fourth time in the race and dropped out about halfway through the 203 km course from Piazzola sul Brenta to San Valentino. There had already been talk about the Slovenian leaving the race after Sunday\u2019s stage, on which he lost 1:30 to his GC rivals and slipped down to tenth in the standings.<\/p>\n

    Before the start of the stage, Rogli\u010d had admitted that he was facing an uphill battle just to stay in the race. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s realistic to go for the GC,\u201d he told TNT Sports. \u201cLike I said, I\u2019m fighting to survive. I showed up at the start, but yesterday [Monday], I couldn\u2019t even sit on the bike. Today, I\u2019ll see if I can stay on it.\u201d He couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

    I hate to say it, but to crash four times on a Grand Tour may suggest that, at 35, the five-time Grand Tour winner no longer has the bike-handling skills to win a Grand Tour. Three of the crashes, including Tuesday\u2019s, occurred on pavement made slippery by rain. But if you can\u2019t stay on your bike when the pavement is not ideal\u2026 I\u2019ll let you finish the sentence.<\/p>\n

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    Zobrazit p\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek na Instagramu<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n