{"id":198682,"date":"2025-06-02T10:39:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T10:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=198682"},"modified":"2025-06-02T10:39:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T10:39:37","slug":"simon-yates-finds-glory-with-dramatic-giro-d-italia-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/06\/02\/simon-yates-finds-glory-with-dramatic-giro-d-italia-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Simon Yates Finds Glory and Redemption on Finestre with Dramatic Giro Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Simon Yates banished the ghosts of past failure by conquering the daunting Colle delle Finestre \u2013 the climb that had cost him victory seven years ago \u2013 to win the Giro d\u2019Italia on Saturday\u2019s thrilling \u2013 and baffling \u2013 stage 20. In a race with more twists and turns than the Alpe d\u2019Huez, this final stunner may have been the most outrageous of all as Yates leapfrogged from third place to first by turning a 1:21 disadvantage into a winning margin of 3:56 over former race leader Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG). Richard Carapaz (EF Education\u2013EasyPost) completed the Giro podium, 4:43 adrift.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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An emotional comeback<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the most exciting stage of the most exciting Grand Tour in recent memory, Yates\u2019s long solo ride up the most difficult climb in the race (18.5 km @ 9.2% with ramps up to 14%, and including 7 km of gravel) gave him the second Grand Tour victory of his career and probably the best day in his life on as bike. So important was his victory over that mountain that the usually taciturn Yates broke down and cried after the finish.<\/p>\n

His reaction was understandable. At the start of stage 19 of the 2018 Giro, he had led the GC by 28 seconds over Tom Dumoulin and 3:22 over Chris Froome, but he cracked trying to follow Froome on the Finistre and finished the stage nearly 40 minutes behind the four-time Tour de France winner, a stinging memory that he has now laid to rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the parcours was released, I always had it in the back of my mind that maybe I could come here and close the chapter,\u201d the still tearful 32-year-old Briton told TNT Sports after the stage. \u201cMaybe not to take the pink jersey and the race, but at least win the stage win or something. To try and show myself the way I know I can do, and to pull it off. I have to thank the guys, the team. They believed in me and even during the stage they were saying, \u2018Just give it a try,\u2019 and I did it in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to say, \u201cI\u2019m not really an emotional person, but even coming over the finish line, I couldn\u2019t hold back the tears. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve worked towards throughout my career, year after year, and I\u2019ve had a lot of setbacks. I finally managed to pull it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he won the race with his heart and with his legs \u2013 he rode the fastest ever ascent in history of the Finestre, 59:22 \u2013 he also had plenty of help, especially from Wout van Aert, who waited for Yates on the descent from the Finestre and then helped him add more than 2 minutes to his advantage over del Toro and Carapaz by leading him down the mountain, across the valley and halfway up the final climb to the finish line at Sestriere (16.3 km @ 3.8%).<\/p>\n

How to lose a Grand Tour without really trying<\/strong><\/h2>\n

And there was the unwitting aid of his main rivals, Carapaz and, especially, del Toro. The decisive battle for the race leader\u2019s maglia rosa<\/em>, or pink jersey, was kicked off by Carapaz not far from the foot of the climb. He was followed by del Toro, and the two of them rode off. Yates waited before commencing his chase and eventually, in his calm, measured style, caught them. He then attacked the pair three times, and was always reeled in. But on his fourth attack, Carapaz and del Toro did not respond, allowing him to build a decent gap.<\/p>\n

As the wily Ecuadorian and the 21-year-old Mexican tried to outthink each other, the gap to Yates vacillated between 8 and 20 seconds \u2013 until del Toro made his first fatal mistake: he refused to help Carapaz ride in pursuit. The Ecuadorian called his bluff and slowed down, trying to coax his rival into taking up the chase. By the time del Toro finally assumed his responsibility as race leader and started working, Yates was near the summit and was already the virtual race leader. Then van Aert joined him and added more pressure on the pursuers.<\/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