Simon Yates on brink of Giro d'Italia title after epic comeback
Simon Yates is poised to win the Giro d'Italia after an epic climb from third place to race leader by a comfortable margin on Saturday's penultimate stage.
Yates, the 2018 Vuelta a Espana champion from Great Britain, overcame an 81-second deficit in the overall standings at the start of Saturday's 20th stage.
He did it on the 11-mile Colle delle Finestre climb en route to a third-place finish on the day behind Australian stage winner Chris Harper.
Yates overtook both Richard Carapaz of Ecuador and Isaac del Toro, the leader for 11 stages whose hopes of becoming the first cyclist from Mexico to win a Grand Tour are all but extinguished.
By the end of the day in the Cottian Alps, Yates turned that deficit into a lead of multiple minutes.
Sunday's 21st and final stage — a flat, 89-mile ride around Vatican City and Rome — is not expected to shake up the top of the overall standings.
Del Toro, 21, was bidding to become the youngest man to win the Giro since 1940 — when Italian Fausto Coppi earned the first of his record-tying five titles — according to ProCyclingStats.com.
Del Toro was already the first cyclist from Mexico to wear the leader jersey in any of the three Grand Tours — Giro, Tour de France and Vuelta.
Instead, Yates is on the brink of becoming the second British rider to win multiple Grand Tours after Chris Froome, who won all three, including four Tours de France.
Since that 2018 Vuelta title, Yates placed third in the 2021 Giro and fourth in the 2023 Tour.
Yates' seven-year gap between two Grand Tour titles would be the longest since Italian Felice Gimondi won the 1969 and 1976 Giros. And the longest between a rider's first and second Grand Tour titles specifically since Coppi won the 1940 and 1947 Giros (with World War II in between).
Yates, 32, would also give Team Visma–Lease a Bike its first Grand Tour title since the outfit swept the Giro, Tour and Vuelta with three different riders in 2023, an unprecedented feat.
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who last year won his first Giro and his third Tour de France. didn't ride this year's Giro as he focuses on prep for July's Tour.
Slovenian Primož Roglic, the 2023 Giro winner and four-time Vuelta champ, led after the second and seventh stages of this Giro, but abandoned on the 16th after the last of several crashes during the Giro.
Spain's Juan Ayuso, who entered the Giro as the UAE team leader, won the first mountain stage (the seventh stage). He then lost 12 minutes to del Toro on the 16th stage and withdrew on the 18th after a bee stung him inside his helmet, which led to eye swelling.
Associated Press,
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
34 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
A year from World Cup, US tries to right itself after Copa America and CONCACAF Nations League flops
Associated Press One year from hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1994, the U.S. team is struggling to right itself on the field and regain the confidence of a distressed fan base. Shaken by flops at the Copa America and the CONCACAF Nations League, the U.S. plays Turkey on Saturday at East Hartford, Connecticut, and Switzerland on Tuesday at Nashville, Tennessee. The team then heads to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, its last competitive matches until the Americans' World Cup opener on June 12 next year. 'There is a palpable and fair angst and maybe even worse apathy relative to this team given its recent failures,' former American defender and Fox Sports lead analyst Alexi Lalas said Friday. 'A year out from the World Cup, I don't think that many of us predicted that we would be in this frame of mind at this point in time.' After reaching the second round of the 2022 World Cup, the U.S. was eliminated in the group stage of the Copa America last summer, causing the U.S. Soccer Federation to replace coach Gregg Berhalter with Mauricio Pochettino. The Americans then lost to Panama and Canada at the CONCACAF Nations League final four in March. 'We've struggled. We've got beat down ... pegged back a stone, so to speak,' midfielder Tyler Adams, the 2022 World Cup captain, said Friday from the team's training camp in Chicago. 'We need to continue to prove that we are at this level and able to improve." Among the missing are Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Antonee Robinson, Sergiño Dest, Yunus Musah, Folarin Balogun and Gio Reyna. Some are hurt, some want time off and some will be at the Club World Cup. Pochettino's roster includes seven players who could make national team debuts and 15 from Major League Soccer. The group averages 16 international appearances and will compete in a tournament where defending champion Mexico has many of its veterans. 'Good enough? I will let you know after,' Pochettino said. "I think we have quality players and now, of course, we need to build a team, a team that fights for each other and show that we have the quality.' After this tournament, there will be just four more FIFA windows until players arrive for training ahead of the World Cup, and the team will play only non-competition games. 'I don't think there's any denying that some of our performances have fallen short over the past year to 18 months," said 32-year-old defender Walker Zimmerman, a 2022 World Cup veteran. 'It's something that us as players we obviously aren't satisfied with and that's a big focal point for this camp.' Pochettino has selected 59 players since taking over in October. He turned over the roster after the team's dismal showing in March. 'We can lose, but there's a way to lose and I think that what we showed out on the pitch, to the fans, wasn't anywhere near good enough in terms of the mentality and intensity,' goalkeeper Matt Turner said. 'When you lose and then you have so long in between games, you know you obviously think a lot about what could have gone different and you analyze every aspect of environment, player selection and all that. But for us we know from player one to player 60 or however many are in this pool, the minimum standard is that we're going show up and we're going to be intense and we lacked that in Los Angeles.' Diego Luna, a 21-year-old midfielder, impressed Pochettino during his international debut against Costa Rica in January when his nose was broken by an early elbow and he insisted on staying in the game through the first half with cotton stuffed in his nose to absorb the blood. 'That experience for me was, I could say, life-changing," Luna said. 'I think added an opportunity for me to come back into more camps and show the type of the grit and the hunger that I have to play and represent for my country. ... Mauricio really liked that about me and really liked the fight that I had and I think that shows other players that that's what's needed in this team and to fight through everything.' ___ AP soccer: recommended
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Carlos Alcaraz feels he pushed Lorenzo Musetti to the limit in French Open semi
Carlos Alcaraz felt he pushed Lorenzo Musetti to the limit as he reached a second successive French Open final. The defending champion secured his place in Sunday's Roland Garros showpiece after Italian eighth seed Musetti, who had won the first set, retired in the fourth while trailing 4-6 7-6 (3) 6-0 2-0. Advertisement 'It's not the way that I want to win, to make the final,' said Alcaraz. 'I just wished him a speedy recovery. I hope to see him soon, on court again, enjoying his tennis again. 'In the first set I had a few break points that I couldn't make. I tried to stay there. I knew that I had chances. I was playing great. 'It was just about a few mistakes or few things that made the difference in the first set. 'Then in the second set, it was pretty close as well. I ended up playing a great tie-break. I think his level went down a little bit, and I made the most of it. Advertisement 'At the beginning of the third set, I knew what I had to do. I'm pushing him to the limit, try to make him run from side to side. 'In the end, you know, he had to retire, but I think it was a really important moment the beginning of the third set.' The 22-year-old Spaniard now has the chance to become the first man to retain the title since his idol, Rafael Nadal, managed it in 2020. Musetti played some exquisite tennis in the first two sets under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier. But the 23-year-old had treatment on his leg during a one-sided third set and called it a day after Alcaraz won nine games in a row. Advertisement There were echoes of a match here four years ago when Musetti retired against Novak Djokovic at 4-0 down in the fifth, later saying he was not injured but that he quit because he was 'not able to win a point'. This time he revealed he had a problem with his thigh. 'I felt it at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg, behind,' he said. 'Definitely it was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop. I think it was the right decision to make, even if it was not what I wanted.' Musetti is scheduled to play at Queen's Club in just over a week in the build-up to Wimbledon. Advertisement But he added: 'It's too early to say. Of course in the programme it's next tournament Queen's, and then of course Wimbledon. 'But of course we are going to evaluate tomorrow what the examinations will say, and take a decision for what's next.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Report – Inter Milan To Officially Announce Cristian Chivu As Coach Next Week
Report – Inter Milan To Officially Announce Cristian Chivu As Coach Next Week Inter Milan will officially make the announcement of Cristian Chivu as their new coach at the start of next week. This according to Italian outlet FCInter1908. They report that the Nerazzurri will have to wait until finalizing the Romanian's departure from Parma before they make it official. Advertisement nter Milan have decided upon Cristian Chivu to be their new coach. The 44-year-old will replace Simone Inzaghi, who has left to join Al-Hilal. Inter had been working on snapping up Cesc Fabregas to become Inzaghi's successor. However, Como President Mirwan Suwarson strongly rebuffed the Nerazzurri's interest, and stated that the Lariani would refuse to release the Spaniard. Meanwhile, Genoa coach Patrick Vieira was another name reportedly on Inter's shortlist. Inter Milan To Officially Announce Cristian Chivu Next Week Inter Milan met with Chivu and his representatives yesterday and today. And in this afternoon's meeting, the parties came to a complete agreement. Therefore, Chivu is reportedly ready to put pen to paper on a two-year contract with Inter. Advertisement However, the 44-year-old will not be announced as Inter coach today, officially. That is because Inter are still waiting on the final details of Chivu's separation from Parma. However, reports FCIN1908, in the meantime Inter and Chivu have begun planning for next season. That has included talks regarding the Club World Cup, and the summer transfer window.
