Del Toro touches the heights as Giro triumph beckons
Isaac Del Toro maintained his tight grip on the Giro d'Italia pink jersey on the first of two massive alpine days.
Del Toro even managed to increase his advantage slightly on Friday as the Mexican rider edged closest challenger Richard Carapaz to claim second place on the 19th stage and two precious extra bonus seconds.
The duo crossed the line 58 seconds behind Nicolas Prodhomme, who claimed the biggest victory of his career on the Queen stage.
Del Toro inched to 43 seconds ahead of Carapaz overall. Simon Yates remained third but slipped to one minute 21 seconds behind Del Toro.
Del Toro has been in pink since the end of the ninth stage, when he became the first Mexican cyclist to lead the Giro.
His continued success has sparked cycling fever in his home country. He dominates the front pages of the newspapers and Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum wished him luck in her press conference on Thursday.
"It's amazing. I cannot believe it to be honest. All the people in my country now start to see the sport and how hard it is and it's just incredible," Del Toro said.
"I think we are coming a little bit, step by step, but now it's incredible this feeling."
He added with a laugh, "And I cannot believe I'm the guy who represents the country. They need to send another one better I think."
The stage featured 5,000m of elevation across five climbs, three of which were of the highest classification, on a 166km route from Biella to Champoluc.
Prodhomme was part of a large breakaway right at the start, and he pulled clear of the remaining escapees on the penultimate climb up the Col de Joux to solo to victory.
The French cyclist had a broad smile on his face as he approached the finish and he sat up and stretched out his arms before putting his hands over his face, in disbelief, as he crossed the line for his first win in a Grand Tour and only the second victory in his career.
"I waited a long time for a win, but I won my first race three weeks ago, and now I win here in Grand Tour, in Giro d'Italia," Prodhomme said. "I'm very, very happy and it's a very, very nice day."
Behind Prodhomme, Carapaz attacked on the final climb, 6.8km from the finish, and only Del Toro stayed with him. The pair rode away from the peloton.
Yates, who had been 51 seconds behind Del Toro at the start of the day, was 1.22 slower than Prodhomme.
Australia's Michael Storer climbed one place to ninth in the general classification after finishing 13th, 2.17 behind Prodhomme.
Chris Harper (32nd) and Damien Howson (48th) were the other Australians to finish in the top 50. Harper is 28th and Howson 42nd overall.
The Giro winner will almost certainly be decided in another mountain showdown on Saturday before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome the following day.
The penultimate stage is a 205km leg from Verres to Sestriere that features the beyond-category climb on a gravel road to Colle delle Finestre, where Chris Froome's audacious attack in 2018 earned him the title.
"I have the same chances to win than before the Giro and I just want to be easy, normal guy," Del Toro said. "Big dinner and hotel, then in the morning we go again."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
'Another great time': Aussie ace eyes more Vuelta glory
Fresh from delivering the Australian highlight of the Tour de France with his solo triumph on its most testing stage, Ben O'Connor has now targeted another spectacular three weeks at La Vuelta a Espana as his follow-up. The world championship silver medallist had endured a fairly subdued first year riding in the colours of Australian team Jayco AlUla until he lit up the 18th day of racing at his otherwise difficult Tour last month by launching a spectacular 15km solo attack on the fiendish Col de la Loze. The triumph, his second at the Tour, was a reminder of just how brilliant the 29-year-old O'Connor can be on his best days, just as he was at last year's Vuelta when he won the sixth stage by almost four-and-a-half minutes to take the race leader's red jersey which he held for another 12 days. O'Connor eventually finished runner-up - the best ever performance at the Vuelta by an Australian - and now he's in the mood for a repeat performance in the season's final Grand Tour in Spain. "Last year, I had an amazing time leading the race for two weeks, wearing the red jersey, and it was a pretty special moment being on the podium," said O'Connor, who is currently among eight projected Australian starters in the race that begins on Saturday in the Italian venue of Turin. "I'm coming back this year aiming for another great result and another great time. "The route in general is a bit of a mixture with some easier stages, along with climbs that suit me quite well. There are some iconic stages like the Angliru, which I've never actually done before. "It's one of the hardest climbs in the world, so I can tick that one off the list. Hopefully, we'll get to Madrid, and I can also be up there on GC myself." O'Connor leads a parade of 10 Australians in the 80th edition of the Vuelta, a lineup that also includes former Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley and UAE Team Emirates climbing star Jay Vine. All those three should thrive on a course with 11 summit finishes, headed by the iconic Angliru in the second week. In the absence of four-time winner Primoz Roglic and Tour champ Tadej Pogacar, who's focusing his attention on preparing for the world championships, Jonas Vingegaard is favourite to take the title, a third Grand Tour to go with his two Tour victories. Australians riding at the 2025 Vuelta a Espana Ben O'Connor, Kelland O'Brien, Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla); Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious); Callum Scotson (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale); Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG); Damien Howson (Q36.5 Pro Cycling); Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe); Chris Hamilton, Patrick Eddy (Team Picnic PostNL).
7NEWS
2 days ago
- 7NEWS
Bernard Tomic spoils the party with win over Patrick Kypson in US Open qualifying
Bernard Tomic's impressive resurgence has put the Australian two wins away from his first US Open main draw appearance — and a $170,000 pay day — in nine years. The 32-year-old offered up moments of his awkward, disruptive best in a comprehensive 6-4 6-4 defeat of American Patrick Kypson on Wednesday (AEST), spoiling the party a packed crowd. One of six Australian winners on the day, Tomic next plays Portugal's Henrique Rocha after the world No.168 upset French veteran Pierre-Hugues Herbert in a lengthy three-set battle. Tomic, the 2009 US Open junior champion, hasn't featured in the Flushing Meadows main draw since 2017 and last played qualifying in 2018. But the former world No.17 has returned on a mission after aborting last week's delayed ATP Challenger final in Colombia to properly prepare for his main-draw shot. The Barranquilla decider, delayed a day because of rain, was Tomic's second final at that level in the month and could have been his first major title since 2018. Often criticised for a perceived lack of effort and intensity, Tomic has knuckled down in the last two years to surge from a career-low 835 to at least No.167 when the next rankings are calculated. In June he took two top-100 scalps, including compatriot Rinky Hijikata. A US Open berth would be Tomic's first grand slam main draw appearance since he qualified for the Australian Open in 2021. There are US Open concerns for Australian world No.79 Chris O'Connell, who retired after losing the first set to Roberto Bautista Agut at the lead-up event in Winston Salem. The battling Aussie withdrew from last month's Toronto Masters with an oblique injury and then didn't play in Cincinnati, before attempting a return this week. Jason Kubler will meet Kyrian Jacquet in the second round after beating Brit George Loffhagen 6-4 7-5. Australian women Olivia Gadecki, Priscilla Hon and Lizette Cabrera all won their first-round matches, while Destanee Aiava upset eighth seed Sara Bejlek, 6-4 4-6 6-4. But Alex Bolt and Daria Saville both lost after four Australians had won first-round qualifying matches on Tuesday. The qualifiers are hoping to join a dozen Australian direct entrants, led by men's world No.8 Alex de Minaur, and wildcards Tristan Skoolkate and Tahlia Gibson.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Tomic turns back clock, US Open main draw in reach
Bernard Tomic's impressive resurgence has put the Australian two wins away from his first US Open main draw appearance in nine years. The 32-year-old offered up moments of his awkward, disruptive best in a comprehensive 6-4 6-4 defeat of American Patrick Kypson on Wednesday (AEST). One of six Australian winners on the day, Tomic next plays Portugal's Henrique Rocha after the world No.168 upset French veteran Pierre-Hugues Herbert in a lengthy three-set battle. There are US Open concerns for Australian world No.79 Chris O'Connell, who retired after losing the first set to Roberto Bautista Agut at the lead-up event in Winston Salem. The battling Aussie withdrew from last month's Toronto Masters with an oblique injury and then didn't play in Cincinnati, before attempting a return this week. Tomic, the 2009 US Open junior champion hasn't featured in the Flushing Meadows main draw since 2017 and last played qualifying in 2018. But Tomic, who climbed as high as world No.17 in 2016, has returned on a mission after aborting last week's delayed ATP Challenger final in Colombia to properly prepare for his main-draw shot. The Barranquilla decider, delayed a day because of rain, was Tomic's second final at that level in the month and could have been his first major title since 2018. Often criticised for a perceived lack of effort and intensity, Tomic has knuckled down in the last two years to surge from a career-low 835 to at least No.167 when the next rankings are calculated. In June he took two top-100 scalps, including compatriot Rinky Hijikata. A US Open berth would be Tomic's first grand slam main draw appearance since he qualified for the Australian Open in 2021. Jason Kubler will meet Kyrian Jacquet in the second round after beating Brit George Loffhagen 6-4 7-5. Australian women Olivia Gadecki, Priscilla Hon and Lizette Cabrera all won their first-round matches, while Destanee Aiava upset eighth seed Sara Bejlek, 6-4 4-6 6-4. But Alex Bolt and Daria Saville both lost after four Australians had won first-round qualifying matches on Tuesday. The qualifiers are hoping to join a dozen Australian direct entrants, led by men's world No.8 Alex de Minaur, and wildcards Tristan Skoolkate and Tahlia Gibson.
