Simon Yates celebrates after effectively winning the Giro d'Italia on Saturday
Sestriere (Italy) (AFP) - Britain’s Simon Yates is set to win the Giro d’Italia after stealing the overall lead from Isaac Del Toro in Saturday’s crucial 20th stage, won by Chris Harper, and claiming the pink jersey for the finale in Rome.
Yates, 32, will claim a career-defining triumph on Sunday barring disaster after overhauling Del Toro with a brave solo attack on the key Colle delle Finistre climb and finishing the stage third behind Australian rider Harper and Alessandro Verre.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider now only has to cross the line intact in Rome to win his second Grand Tour, with the final stage largely a procession around the Italian capital and Vatican City.
Yates, who broke down in tears at the line, is almost four minutes clear of Del Toro heading into the finale after redemption on the Finistre, the highest climb of this year’s Giro and an 18.5km slog up to 2,178 metres above sea level.
He lost the pink jersey the last time the Finistre featured in the Giro, on the 19th stage of the 2018 edition when he ended up finishing over an hour behind eventual victor Chris Froome in the overall standings.
“I think when the route, the ‘parcours’, was released I always had in the back of the mind to try and do something here, and close the chapter, let’s say,” said Yates.
“Still a bit speechless, really, to know that I was able to do it.”
- Yates triumph -
Yates trailed both Del Toro and Richard Carapaz at the start of the stage after losing 22 seconds on Friday, but he secured victory after pulling away on the key climb.
Simon Yates broke down in teras after snatching the Giro d'Italia pink jersey on Saturday
UAE rider Del Toro spent most of the Finestre ascent just staying on Carapaz’s wheel and ended up unable to bridge the gap to Yates, handing over the pink jersey he had held since the ninth stage.
“We might have been the strongest, but we weren’t the cleverest,” said Carapaz, who was scathing of Del Toro’s passive performance in the decisive stage of his first Grand Tour.
“In the end, he’s lost the Giro, he didn’t know how to race well and the cleverest rider won.”
Yates ended up finishing the stage just under two minutes behind Harper, who claimed the biggest win of his career at the age of 30 after attacking from the break on the Finestre.
“I don’t know what I’m happier about, winning the stage or seeing Yates win pink,” said Harper, who rode with the likely Giro winner at Jayco–AlUla.
“He’s an awesome guy and I had the pleasure of riding with him for a couple of seasons and doing a lot of racing with him. I don’t think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him.”
The final stage will honour the late Pope Francis with an unprecedented ride through the Vatican, and new Pope Leo XIV will greet the cyclists as they pass through.