Del Toro holds Giro lead as Hoole wins rainy time trial
Updated at 20.00
DUTCH TIME trial specialist Daan Hoole won a 28.6km individual run to Pisa on stage 10 of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday as Mexican rider Isaac Del Toro held on to the overall lead.
The 6ft 6in (1m98) Hoole timed 32min 30sec to bag a fourth stage win from 10 for Lidl Trek, whose leader Giulio Ciccone is eighth overall, while Mads Pedersen won three stages for them in the first week.
'I'm so happy and there are so many people I need to thank. I just can't believe it,' Hoole said after his second major win.
But rain fell heavily on the Tuscan course as the main favourites started coming down the starter's ramp, making the individual speed effort even more of a minefield than usual.
The 21-year-old Team UAE rider Del Toro, who took the overall lead on the white gravel test on stage nine, lost 48sec to his team leader Spain's Juan Ayuso, who is now second overall at 25sec.
'I took my foot off the gas, no point taking too many risks,' said the surprise leader Del Toro.
Italian home hope Antonio Tiberi of the Bahrain team is third at 1min 1sec.
'It was horrible and I lost a bit of time,' said Tiberi.
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Simon Yates of Visma looked delighted when his chrono lifted him to fourth overall at 1min 03sec, with Primoz Roglic a further 15sec back in fifth.
Red Bull rider Roglic lost 1min 15sec on Sunday and fell on his recon ride of the time trial Tuesday, but his performance at Pisa drags the former Giro and Vuelta champion back into contention.
The title pretender who was slowest on the day was the Colombian Egan Bernal, who said he was 'just happy to have survived.'
Meanwhile, Darren Rafferty finished in 155th position and is 88th overall.
Fellow Irish rider Sam Bennett was 92nd, leaving him 147th in the overall standings.
This was the second and final individual test of the 2025 edition of the 21-day race and the remaining challenges come in the Alps.
Stage 20 ends with a gruelling climb up the Colle delle Finestre to the Sestriere ski resort and is the moment at which the winner is likely to emerge.
Wednesday's stage 11 is a hilly race to the rocky Castelnovo ne' Monti hilltop town in the Apennines.
You can view the full results here.
– © AFP 2025
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