Cycling-Yates snatches pink jersey from Del Toro on penultimate Giro stage
Cycling - Giro d'Italia - Stage 20 - Verres to Sestriere - Italy - May 31, 2025 Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Simon Yates after crossing the finish line during stage 20 REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
(Reuters) -Simon Yates rode a stage for the ages when he stormed into the overall lead of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday when the Visma-Lease a Bike rider erased overall leader Isaac Del Toro's lead to take the pink jersey on the penultimate stage of the race.
The stage was won by Australian Chris Harper of Jayco-AlUla, who rode solo to the finish while Alessandro Verre was second, but all eyes were on Yates as he finished third to flip the general classification battle and take the overall lead.
On the 205 km ride from Verres to Sestriere where riders gained 4,500 metres in altitude in total, it was Richard Carapaz or Yates who had to make a move if they were to take the pink jersey from Del Toro.
Ultimately, it was Yates who put in a series of attacks in a bid to reel in Del Toro, who held an 81-second lead at the start of the stage.
In 2018, Yates saw his dreams of winning the Giro crumble on the Colle delle Finestre climb when Chris Froome's attack left him far behind.
But this time he redeemed himself on the same climb to take the lead and Del Toro did not respond even as the cavalry arrived in the form of Wout van Aert, who helped Yates power to the finish.
Ultimately, Del Toro knew he had lost his chance and the 21-year-old eventually crossed the line more than five minutes behind Yates.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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