Latest news with #Denz
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- Japan Today
Denz breaks away to win for Roglic as Del Toro protects Giro lead
cycling Nico Denz escaped from the remnants of a huge breakaway to win stage 18 of the Giro on Thursday as the surviving overall contenders took it easy ahead of two mountain-top battles. Even so, the race continued to take a toll on the big names. Juan Ayuso started the stage but retired two days after Primoz Roglic, the other big pre-race favorite, pulled out. Denz, a 31-year-old German, surged away from the other 10 remaining members of the lead group to give Roglic's Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team their first win of a disastrous Giro. "Everyone on the team had the big goal to win the Giro with Primoz," Denz said. "We spent two months in altitude for that. I'm now three months gone from home - I did not see my wife or children. If you lose a leader like Primoz, you lose a dream. We've thought all this hard work was for nothing. Luckily things turned around." Italian Mirco Maestri sprinted to second 1 minute, 1 second later, edging Belgian Edward Planckaert. Overall leader Isaac Del Toro rolled home alongside his main rivals 13 minutes, 51 seconds back. The Mexican has two former grand tour winners in close pursuit. He is a mere 41 seconds ahead of Richard Carapaz and 51sec ahead of Simon Yates. Asked what he was on his mind on the eve of the final battle, the 21-year-old Del Toro replied that he would go to bed thinking of having Nutella for breakfast. "I'm starting to get used to the pink jersey," Del Toro said. "For the next two stages, I hope to be at the front with the best legs I've ever had. We'll see what happens, but I want to be at the front." Thursday's transitional stage from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno was designed to give sprinters a chance and the main contenders a rest, ahead of two days of high-altitude battles. Instead, a breakaway group of almost 40 riders, none well placed overall, coalesced up the road. With almost every team represented, the pack let the break go and spent the gently 144km run rolling easily along. The stage ended with two 12.5km laps and the peloton was so slow that there was a danger it would start its first circuit just as the leaders were beginning their last loop. Organisers solved the problem by asking the previously dormant Q36.5 team, which had no riders in the breakaway, to up the pace at the head of the pack. Ayuso, the designated leader of the UAE team, started the day more than 49 minutes behind team-mate Del Toro, his right swollen eye closed by a sting. "It's been a couple of hard days," he said at the start. "Yesterday a bee went inside my helmet and I can't see out of my right eye." Ayuso had also been nursing a knee injury since a crash on stage nine that required three stitches. Saturday's 166km run from Del Biella to Champoluc includes three first-category climbs. It is first of two two ferocious mountain days before the survivors can roll into Rome in triumph on a flat final day. Before they start racing on the final Sunday, the riders will visit the Vatican where newly-elected Pope Leo XIV will greet the peloton. © 2025 AFP
The 42
3 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Denz breaks away to win for Roglic as Del Toro protects Giro lead
NICO DENZ escaped from the remnants of a huge breakaway to win stage 18 of the Giro on Thursday as the surviving overall contenders took it easy ahead of two mountain-top battles. Even so, the race continued to take a toll on the big names. Juan Ayuso started the stage but retired two days after Primoz Roglic, the other big pre-race favourite, pulled out. Denz, a 31-year-old German, surged away from the other 10 remaining members of the lead group to give Roglic's Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team their first win of a disastrous Giro. 'Everyone on the team had the big goal to win the Giro with Primoz,' Denz said. 'You lose a leader like Roglic, you lose a dream. But we turned it round.' Italian Mirco Maestri sprinted to second 1min 1sec later, edging Belgian Edward Planckaert. Advertisement Overall leader Isaac Del Toro rolled home alongside his main rivals 13min 51sec back. The Mexican has two former grand tour winners in close pursuit. He is a mere 41 seconds ahead of Richard Carapaz and 51sec ahead of Simon Yates. Asked what was on his mind on the eve of the final battle, the 21-year-old Del Toro replied that he would go to bed thinking of having Nutella for breakfast. The transitional stage from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno was designed to give sprinters a chance and the main contenders a rest, ahead of two days of high-altitude battles. Instead, a breakaway group of almost 40 riders, none well placed overall, coalesced up the road. With almost every team represented, the pack let the break go and spent the gently 144km run rolling easily along. The stage ended with two 12.5km laps, and the peloton was so slow that there was a danger it would start its first circuit just as the leaders were beginning their last loop. Organisers solved the problem by asking the previously dormant Q36.5 team, which had no riders in the breakaway, to up the pace at the head of the pack. Ayuso, the designated leader of the UAE team, started the day more than 49 minutes behind teammate Del Toro, his right eye completely closed after he was stung by a hornet the day before. Ayuso had also been nursing a knee injury since a crash on stage nine that required three stitches. Meanwhile, Irish pair Darren Raffery and Sam Bennett finished in 82nd and 143rd place, leaving them 86th and 147th overall. Bennett is now 45th in the points classification. Saturday's 166km run from Del Biella to Champoluc includes three first-category climbs. It is the first of two ferocious mountain days before the survivors can roll into Rome in triumph on a flat final day when the route passes the Vatican, where the new pope is expected to watch. You can view the standings in full here. – © AFP 2025
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Del Toro takes it easy as Denz wins with solo breakaway
Overall leader Isaac Del Toro has had a chance to take it relatively easy during the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, which was won by German rider Nico Denz with a solo breakaway. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the pink jersey, finished safely in the main pack following the 144km route from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno, which featured three minor climbs early on before a relatively flat finale. It will likely be much tougher for the 21-year-old Del Toro over the next two days, with gruelling back-to-back mountain stages before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome on Sunday. Del Toro said: "I don't know what the situation will be. I cannot predict the future. But, of course, if I can be with the GC (general classification) riders, and more or less everything in control for the team, I will be happy enough. I hope to be mentally ready." Del Toro maintained his advantage of 41 seconds ahead of 2019 champion Richard Carapaz and 51 seconds ahead of British rider Simon Yates. Denz was part of a breakaway group of 11 riders - which included Australia's Alexander Edmondson (Picnic PostNL) - and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider attacked with 11km to go on the final flat section of the stage. The 31-year-old outfoxed the group and held a 32-second lead with five kilometres left, blowing kisses to the fans lined up along the final stretch and looking back to see no rider behind him. By the time he crossed the finish line with his arms outstretched, he had finished a minute ahead of the chasing pack for the third Giro stage win of his career. Edmondson finished the stage in fifth place, one minute and one second behind Denz, but is 142nd overall. Victory allowed Denz's team to salvage something from this year's Giro as they celebrated a first stage win after they had seen pre-race favourite Primoz Roglic abandon the race on Tuesday following a crash on stage 16. "This is probably the most emotional of my victories at the Giro. Losing Jai Hindley early then the whole team, staff included, was fully committed to help Primoz Roglic win the Giro. We spent two months in altitude for that," Denz said. "I was three months away from home to prepare for the Giro. A dream was lost when we lost Primoz. We've thought all this hard work was for nothing. Luckily things turned around." Juan Ayuso, Del Toro's UAE Emirates teammate, abandoned the race early on in the stage after struggling for days. Considered a pre-race favorite, Ayuso stood 26th, nearly 50 minutes behind Del Toro, and was battling through knee pain and a bee sting. "Obviously this is not how I wanted my Giro to end but some things are out of my control," Ayuso said in a team statement. "I wish the guys all the best and hope Isaac can keep pink all the way to Rome." Australia's hopes had been hampered on Wednesday by the withdrawal of Jayco AlUla's Luke Plapp and the fading of the fancied Michael Storer (Tudor) who drifted back to 10th place. Storer remains the leading Aussie, still 10th and seven minutes and 46 seconds behind the leader in the GC. Chris Harper (28th) and Daniel Howson (42nd) are the only other Australians in the top 50. Overall leader Isaac Del Toro has had a chance to take it relatively easy during the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, which was won by German rider Nico Denz with a solo breakaway. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the pink jersey, finished safely in the main pack following the 144km route from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno, which featured three minor climbs early on before a relatively flat finale. It will likely be much tougher for the 21-year-old Del Toro over the next two days, with gruelling back-to-back mountain stages before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome on Sunday. Del Toro said: "I don't know what the situation will be. I cannot predict the future. But, of course, if I can be with the GC (general classification) riders, and more or less everything in control for the team, I will be happy enough. I hope to be mentally ready." Del Toro maintained his advantage of 41 seconds ahead of 2019 champion Richard Carapaz and 51 seconds ahead of British rider Simon Yates. Denz was part of a breakaway group of 11 riders - which included Australia's Alexander Edmondson (Picnic PostNL) - and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider attacked with 11km to go on the final flat section of the stage. The 31-year-old outfoxed the group and held a 32-second lead with five kilometres left, blowing kisses to the fans lined up along the final stretch and looking back to see no rider behind him. By the time he crossed the finish line with his arms outstretched, he had finished a minute ahead of the chasing pack for the third Giro stage win of his career. Edmondson finished the stage in fifth place, one minute and one second behind Denz, but is 142nd overall. Victory allowed Denz's team to salvage something from this year's Giro as they celebrated a first stage win after they had seen pre-race favourite Primoz Roglic abandon the race on Tuesday following a crash on stage 16. "This is probably the most emotional of my victories at the Giro. Losing Jai Hindley early then the whole team, staff included, was fully committed to help Primoz Roglic win the Giro. We spent two months in altitude for that," Denz said. "I was three months away from home to prepare for the Giro. A dream was lost when we lost Primoz. We've thought all this hard work was for nothing. Luckily things turned around." Juan Ayuso, Del Toro's UAE Emirates teammate, abandoned the race early on in the stage after struggling for days. Considered a pre-race favorite, Ayuso stood 26th, nearly 50 minutes behind Del Toro, and was battling through knee pain and a bee sting. "Obviously this is not how I wanted my Giro to end but some things are out of my control," Ayuso said in a team statement. "I wish the guys all the best and hope Isaac can keep pink all the way to Rome." Australia's hopes had been hampered on Wednesday by the withdrawal of Jayco AlUla's Luke Plapp and the fading of the fancied Michael Storer (Tudor) who drifted back to 10th place. Storer remains the leading Aussie, still 10th and seven minutes and 46 seconds behind the leader in the GC. Chris Harper (28th) and Daniel Howson (42nd) are the only other Australians in the top 50. Overall leader Isaac Del Toro has had a chance to take it relatively easy during the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, which was won by German rider Nico Denz with a solo breakaway. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the pink jersey, finished safely in the main pack following the 144km route from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno, which featured three minor climbs early on before a relatively flat finale. It will likely be much tougher for the 21-year-old Del Toro over the next two days, with gruelling back-to-back mountain stages before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome on Sunday. Del Toro said: "I don't know what the situation will be. I cannot predict the future. But, of course, if I can be with the GC (general classification) riders, and more or less everything in control for the team, I will be happy enough. I hope to be mentally ready." Del Toro maintained his advantage of 41 seconds ahead of 2019 champion Richard Carapaz and 51 seconds ahead of British rider Simon Yates. Denz was part of a breakaway group of 11 riders - which included Australia's Alexander Edmondson (Picnic PostNL) - and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider attacked with 11km to go on the final flat section of the stage. The 31-year-old outfoxed the group and held a 32-second lead with five kilometres left, blowing kisses to the fans lined up along the final stretch and looking back to see no rider behind him. By the time he crossed the finish line with his arms outstretched, he had finished a minute ahead of the chasing pack for the third Giro stage win of his career. Edmondson finished the stage in fifth place, one minute and one second behind Denz, but is 142nd overall. Victory allowed Denz's team to salvage something from this year's Giro as they celebrated a first stage win after they had seen pre-race favourite Primoz Roglic abandon the race on Tuesday following a crash on stage 16. "This is probably the most emotional of my victories at the Giro. Losing Jai Hindley early then the whole team, staff included, was fully committed to help Primoz Roglic win the Giro. We spent two months in altitude for that," Denz said. "I was three months away from home to prepare for the Giro. A dream was lost when we lost Primoz. We've thought all this hard work was for nothing. Luckily things turned around." Juan Ayuso, Del Toro's UAE Emirates teammate, abandoned the race early on in the stage after struggling for days. Considered a pre-race favorite, Ayuso stood 26th, nearly 50 minutes behind Del Toro, and was battling through knee pain and a bee sting. "Obviously this is not how I wanted my Giro to end but some things are out of my control," Ayuso said in a team statement. "I wish the guys all the best and hope Isaac can keep pink all the way to Rome." Australia's hopes had been hampered on Wednesday by the withdrawal of Jayco AlUla's Luke Plapp and the fading of the fancied Michael Storer (Tudor) who drifted back to 10th place. Storer remains the leading Aussie, still 10th and seven minutes and 46 seconds behind the leader in the GC. Chris Harper (28th) and Daniel Howson (42nd) are the only other Australians in the top 50. Overall leader Isaac Del Toro has had a chance to take it relatively easy during the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, which was won by German rider Nico Denz with a solo breakaway. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the pink jersey, finished safely in the main pack following the 144km route from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno, which featured three minor climbs early on before a relatively flat finale. It will likely be much tougher for the 21-year-old Del Toro over the next two days, with gruelling back-to-back mountain stages before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome on Sunday. Del Toro said: "I don't know what the situation will be. I cannot predict the future. But, of course, if I can be with the GC (general classification) riders, and more or less everything in control for the team, I will be happy enough. I hope to be mentally ready." Del Toro maintained his advantage of 41 seconds ahead of 2019 champion Richard Carapaz and 51 seconds ahead of British rider Simon Yates. Denz was part of a breakaway group of 11 riders - which included Australia's Alexander Edmondson (Picnic PostNL) - and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider attacked with 11km to go on the final flat section of the stage. The 31-year-old outfoxed the group and held a 32-second lead with five kilometres left, blowing kisses to the fans lined up along the final stretch and looking back to see no rider behind him. By the time he crossed the finish line with his arms outstretched, he had finished a minute ahead of the chasing pack for the third Giro stage win of his career. Edmondson finished the stage in fifth place, one minute and one second behind Denz, but is 142nd overall. Victory allowed Denz's team to salvage something from this year's Giro as they celebrated a first stage win after they had seen pre-race favourite Primoz Roglic abandon the race on Tuesday following a crash on stage 16. "This is probably the most emotional of my victories at the Giro. Losing Jai Hindley early then the whole team, staff included, was fully committed to help Primoz Roglic win the Giro. We spent two months in altitude for that," Denz said. "I was three months away from home to prepare for the Giro. A dream was lost when we lost Primoz. We've thought all this hard work was for nothing. Luckily things turned around." Juan Ayuso, Del Toro's UAE Emirates teammate, abandoned the race early on in the stage after struggling for days. Considered a pre-race favorite, Ayuso stood 26th, nearly 50 minutes behind Del Toro, and was battling through knee pain and a bee sting. "Obviously this is not how I wanted my Giro to end but some things are out of my control," Ayuso said in a team statement. "I wish the guys all the best and hope Isaac can keep pink all the way to Rome." Australia's hopes had been hampered on Wednesday by the withdrawal of Jayco AlUla's Luke Plapp and the fading of the fancied Michael Storer (Tudor) who drifted back to 10th place. Storer remains the leading Aussie, still 10th and seven minutes and 46 seconds behind the leader in the GC. Chris Harper (28th) and Daniel Howson (42nd) are the only other Australians in the top 50.
West Australian
3 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Del Toro takes it easy as Denz wins with solo breakaway
Overall leader Isaac Del Toro has had a chance to take it relatively easy during the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, which was won by German rider Nico Denz with a solo breakaway. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the pink jersey, finished safely in the main pack following the 144km route from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno, which featured three minor climbs early on before a relatively flat finale. It will likely be much tougher for the 21-year-old Del Toro over the next two days, with gruelling back-to-back mountain stages before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome on Sunday. Del Toro said: "I don't know what the situation will be. I cannot predict the future. But, of course, if I can be with the GC (general classification) riders, and more or less everything in control for the team, I will be happy enough. I hope to be mentally ready." Del Toro maintained his advantage of 41 seconds ahead of 2019 champion Richard Carapaz and 51 seconds ahead of British rider Simon Yates. Denz was part of a breakaway group of 11 riders - which included Australia's Alexander Edmondson (Picnic PostNL) - and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider attacked with 11km to go on the final flat section of the stage. The 31-year-old outfoxed the group and held a 32-second lead with five kilometres left, blowing kisses to the fans lined up along the final stretch and looking back to see no rider behind him. By the time he crossed the finish line with his arms outstretched, he had finished a minute ahead of the chasing pack for the third Giro stage win of his career. Edmondson finished the stage in fifth place, one minute and one second behind Denz, but is 142nd overall. Victory allowed Denz's team to salvage something from this year's Giro as they celebrated a first stage win after they had seen pre-race favourite Primoz Roglic abandon the race on Tuesday following a crash on stage 16. "This is probably the most emotional of my victories at the Giro. Losing Jai Hindley early then the whole team, staff included, was fully committed to help Primoz Roglic win the Giro. We spent two months in altitude for that," Denz said. "I was three months away from home to prepare for the Giro. A dream was lost when we lost Primoz. We've thought all this hard work was for nothing. Luckily things turned around." Juan Ayuso, Del Toro's UAE Emirates teammate, abandoned the race early on in the stage after struggling for days. Considered a pre-race favorite, Ayuso stood 26th, nearly 50 minutes behind Del Toro, and was battling through knee pain and a bee sting. "Obviously this is not how I wanted my Giro to end but some things are out of my control," Ayuso said in a team statement. "I wish the guys all the best and hope Isaac can keep pink all the way to Rome." Australia's hopes had been hampered on Wednesday by the withdrawal of Jayco AlUla's Luke Plapp and the fading of the fancied Michael Storer (Tudor) who drifted back to 10th place. Storer remains the leading Aussie, still 10th and seven minutes and 46 seconds behind the leader in the GC. Chris Harper (28th) and Daniel Howson (42nd) are the only other Australians in the top 50.
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Nico Denz bursts to Giro stage win, Isaac Del Toro in overall lead
Nico Denz surged to victory on stage 18 of the Giro D'Italia, offering some respite for his struggling Red Bull team. The German produced a powerful finish to take the win at Cesano Maderno, a much-needed injection of good news following the injury withdrawals of general classification hopefuls Jai Hindley and Primoz Roglic. Denz, now a three-time stage winner at the Giro, moved with a group of 35 in the opening stages and held his spot as the breakaway thinned to 11. With just over 10km still to go, the 31-year-old made his move and found nobody able to match him. Mirco Maestri, representing Polti-VisitMalta, won the battle for second around a minute further back and Edward Planckaert came in third for Alpecin-Deceuninck. The GC riders in the peloton crossed almost 10 minutes after Denz stopped the clock, leaving Isaac Del Toro in possession of the pink jersey on behalf of UAE Team Emirates. Richard Carparaz (EF-Education EasyPost) and Great Britain's Simon Yates remains third (Team Visma). Del Toro's team-mate Juan Ayuso was forced to abandon his own bid after a nasty bee sting around his eye added to existing knee problems, leaving him unable to race on. The race now moves on to the climbs of the 166km Biella-Champoluc stage.
