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The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Aussie Harper wins and Yates rides into pink at Giro
Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really." Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really." Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really." Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really."
West Australian
3 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Aussie Harper wins and Yates rides into pink at Giro
Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really."
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Aussie Harper wins and Yates rides into pink at Giro
Australian Chris Harper has won the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia with the ride of his life - but he was still happy to play second fiddle to his one-time British teammate Simon Yates, who sensationally exploded the race to grab almost certain overall victory. Harper, a 30-year-old stalwart for Australian team Jayco AlUla, enjoyed his first ever individual grand tour victory with an epic solo effort on the brutal 20th 'queen' stage from Verres to Sestriere, conquering one of cycling's most brutal climbs, the Colle delle Finestre, to battle home alone one minute 49 seconds clear of the field. It was a wondrous moment for Harper, a fine 12-year pro, as he rode clear of a breakaway near the top of the climb on Saturday and then held on for his first race victory for nearly six years, as an incredible story was building behind him. His ex-Jayco teammate Yates, now at Team Visma-Lease a Bike, dropped race leader Isaac del Toro on the Finestre with another monumental ride to clinch the leader's pink jersey with just one flat, largely ceremonial flat stage left. Yates, who'd started the day 1min 21sec adrift, ended it 3:56 ahead of del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, and he'll ride into Rome with a second grand tour title in the bag. The great irony is that 32-year-old Yates, a former Vuelta winner, had lost the Giro to Chris Froome by cracking on the same climb seven years ago when he was with the Jayco team known then as Mitchelton-Scott. Sunday's redemption ride left the Briton sobbing with joy. "I don't know what I'm happier about, though, getting a stage win or seeing Yatesy win pink. He's an awesome guy, I had the pleasure of racing with him for a couple of seasons and I don't think anyone deserves the pink jersey more than him," said Harper. "It means a lot for me to win on this stage. It's such a famous climb and I'm pretty proud to win the stage here. It's a super challenging one, and I'm really happy I could pull it off." "Mentally and physically it's been a challenging Giro," added Adelaide rider Harper, who became Australia's third stage winner of the 2025 Giro after Kaden Groves took the sixth stage and another Jayco man Luke Plapp soloed away in the eighth. "I came here looking for GC (the general classification) and I was feeling good in the first week, but then got sick on the second rest day. "I started to feel pretty bad and ended up on antibiotics, and then slipped off of the GC. After that, I was looking for a stage win." It came in dramatic fashion as he made one key push with 16km left and then finally rode his last challenger, runner-up Alessandro Verre (Arkea-B&B Hotels), off his wheel. Harper still couldn't be sure of the win, though, with Yates catching him fast in third place. "I asked the (team) car one last time how big the gap was, I knew Simon was coming, I wasn't super confident. Only once I got to about 1.5km to go, I knew I could hold on. It was a bit of a relief. "When the route was released I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say," said Yates. "I'm still a bit speechless really."
The Advertiser
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Aussie Groves makes podium but misses out at Giro
Kaden Groves got it all right to prevail in the sprint finale to the 14th stage as the Giro d'Italia had a warmly greeted stopover in Slovenia - but, alas for the Queensland speedster, it was only enough to earn him the runner-up prize for the day. For 16 seconds up ahead in the finale to the stage at Nova Gorica on Saturday, Denmark's Kasper Asgreen, who'd got into an early breakaway, escaped on his own to steal the win which had looked tailor-made for the sprinters. Groves, who had been looking for another win in the 108th Giro after victory on the crash-laden sixth stage in Naples, had to settle for second this time in the 168km trek from across the border in Treviso as the Alpecin-Deceuninck ace edged out Dutchman Olav Kooij, winner of Thursday's stage 12. For Groves that's now four top-five finishes in this year's race but this one will doubtless come as a frustration on a wet, slippery day after Asgreen stole a march from the breakaway five kilometres from home, splashing away to his second Grand Tour win. Behind him there had been chaos after a crash which enabled the overall race leader Isaac del Toro to gain time on many of his biggest rivals who'd been slowed by the pile-up about 22km from the finish that occurred on a narrow cobblestoned section. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the leader's pink jersey, benefited by featuring in the second group containing Groves. But his UAE Team Emirates teammate Juan Ayuso, 2023 champion Primoz Roglic and top-placed Italian Antonio Tiberi all finished further behind, along with Australia's main GC hope Michael Storer. "We wanted to be ahead in case accidents like that happen or there are splits in the group," said del Toro. He entered the stage 38 seconds up on Ayuso and improved his lead to 1 minute 20 seconds, but his nearest challenger now is Briton Simon Yates (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) with his Spanish teammate dropping to third, 1:26 behind. The 2019 champion Richard Carapaz is fourth, 2:07 behind; and Roglic is 2:23 adrift in fifth, with Storer now 13th at 4:25. Mads Pedersen, who might have fancied a fifth stage win of the race, also had his chances ended in the crash and had to change bikes. "In the second half of a Grand Tour, everybody has tired legs and that made the difference today for the breakaway to be successful," Asgreen said. "The weather conditions have definitely played in my favor. The final circuit was quite technical. Wet roads made it harder for the bunch to catch us." Stage 15 on Sunday will feature a big climb up Monte Grappa at the mid-point of the 219km route from Fiume Veneto to Asiago. Kaden Groves got it all right to prevail in the sprint finale to the 14th stage as the Giro d'Italia had a warmly greeted stopover in Slovenia - but, alas for the Queensland speedster, it was only enough to earn him the runner-up prize for the day. For 16 seconds up ahead in the finale to the stage at Nova Gorica on Saturday, Denmark's Kasper Asgreen, who'd got into an early breakaway, escaped on his own to steal the win which had looked tailor-made for the sprinters. Groves, who had been looking for another win in the 108th Giro after victory on the crash-laden sixth stage in Naples, had to settle for second this time in the 168km trek from across the border in Treviso as the Alpecin-Deceuninck ace edged out Dutchman Olav Kooij, winner of Thursday's stage 12. For Groves that's now four top-five finishes in this year's race but this one will doubtless come as a frustration on a wet, slippery day after Asgreen stole a march from the breakaway five kilometres from home, splashing away to his second Grand Tour win. Behind him there had been chaos after a crash which enabled the overall race leader Isaac del Toro to gain time on many of his biggest rivals who'd been slowed by the pile-up about 22km from the finish that occurred on a narrow cobblestoned section. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the leader's pink jersey, benefited by featuring in the second group containing Groves. But his UAE Team Emirates teammate Juan Ayuso, 2023 champion Primoz Roglic and top-placed Italian Antonio Tiberi all finished further behind, along with Australia's main GC hope Michael Storer. "We wanted to be ahead in case accidents like that happen or there are splits in the group," said del Toro. He entered the stage 38 seconds up on Ayuso and improved his lead to 1 minute 20 seconds, but his nearest challenger now is Briton Simon Yates (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) with his Spanish teammate dropping to third, 1:26 behind. The 2019 champion Richard Carapaz is fourth, 2:07 behind; and Roglic is 2:23 adrift in fifth, with Storer now 13th at 4:25. Mads Pedersen, who might have fancied a fifth stage win of the race, also had his chances ended in the crash and had to change bikes. "In the second half of a Grand Tour, everybody has tired legs and that made the difference today for the breakaway to be successful," Asgreen said. "The weather conditions have definitely played in my favor. The final circuit was quite technical. Wet roads made it harder for the bunch to catch us." Stage 15 on Sunday will feature a big climb up Monte Grappa at the mid-point of the 219km route from Fiume Veneto to Asiago. Kaden Groves got it all right to prevail in the sprint finale to the 14th stage as the Giro d'Italia had a warmly greeted stopover in Slovenia - but, alas for the Queensland speedster, it was only enough to earn him the runner-up prize for the day. For 16 seconds up ahead in the finale to the stage at Nova Gorica on Saturday, Denmark's Kasper Asgreen, who'd got into an early breakaway, escaped on his own to steal the win which had looked tailor-made for the sprinters. Groves, who had been looking for another win in the 108th Giro after victory on the crash-laden sixth stage in Naples, had to settle for second this time in the 168km trek from across the border in Treviso as the Alpecin-Deceuninck ace edged out Dutchman Olav Kooij, winner of Thursday's stage 12. For Groves that's now four top-five finishes in this year's race but this one will doubtless come as a frustration on a wet, slippery day after Asgreen stole a march from the breakaway five kilometres from home, splashing away to his second Grand Tour win. Behind him there had been chaos after a crash which enabled the overall race leader Isaac del Toro to gain time on many of his biggest rivals who'd been slowed by the pile-up about 22km from the finish that occurred on a narrow cobblestoned section. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the leader's pink jersey, benefited by featuring in the second group containing Groves. But his UAE Team Emirates teammate Juan Ayuso, 2023 champion Primoz Roglic and top-placed Italian Antonio Tiberi all finished further behind, along with Australia's main GC hope Michael Storer. "We wanted to be ahead in case accidents like that happen or there are splits in the group," said del Toro. He entered the stage 38 seconds up on Ayuso and improved his lead to 1 minute 20 seconds, but his nearest challenger now is Briton Simon Yates (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) with his Spanish teammate dropping to third, 1:26 behind. The 2019 champion Richard Carapaz is fourth, 2:07 behind; and Roglic is 2:23 adrift in fifth, with Storer now 13th at 4:25. Mads Pedersen, who might have fancied a fifth stage win of the race, also had his chances ended in the crash and had to change bikes. "In the second half of a Grand Tour, everybody has tired legs and that made the difference today for the breakaway to be successful," Asgreen said. "The weather conditions have definitely played in my favor. The final circuit was quite technical. Wet roads made it harder for the bunch to catch us." Stage 15 on Sunday will feature a big climb up Monte Grappa at the mid-point of the 219km route from Fiume Veneto to Asiago. Kaden Groves got it all right to prevail in the sprint finale to the 14th stage as the Giro d'Italia had a warmly greeted stopover in Slovenia - but, alas for the Queensland speedster, it was only enough to earn him the runner-up prize for the day. For 16 seconds up ahead in the finale to the stage at Nova Gorica on Saturday, Denmark's Kasper Asgreen, who'd got into an early breakaway, escaped on his own to steal the win which had looked tailor-made for the sprinters. Groves, who had been looking for another win in the 108th Giro after victory on the crash-laden sixth stage in Naples, had to settle for second this time in the 168km trek from across the border in Treviso as the Alpecin-Deceuninck ace edged out Dutchman Olav Kooij, winner of Thursday's stage 12. For Groves that's now four top-five finishes in this year's race but this one will doubtless come as a frustration on a wet, slippery day after Asgreen stole a march from the breakaway five kilometres from home, splashing away to his second Grand Tour win. Behind him there had been chaos after a crash which enabled the overall race leader Isaac del Toro to gain time on many of his biggest rivals who'd been slowed by the pile-up about 22km from the finish that occurred on a narrow cobblestoned section. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the leader's pink jersey, benefited by featuring in the second group containing Groves. But his UAE Team Emirates teammate Juan Ayuso, 2023 champion Primoz Roglic and top-placed Italian Antonio Tiberi all finished further behind, along with Australia's main GC hope Michael Storer. "We wanted to be ahead in case accidents like that happen or there are splits in the group," said del Toro. He entered the stage 38 seconds up on Ayuso and improved his lead to 1 minute 20 seconds, but his nearest challenger now is Briton Simon Yates (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) with his Spanish teammate dropping to third, 1:26 behind. The 2019 champion Richard Carapaz is fourth, 2:07 behind; and Roglic is 2:23 adrift in fifth, with Storer now 13th at 4:25. Mads Pedersen, who might have fancied a fifth stage win of the race, also had his chances ended in the crash and had to change bikes. "In the second half of a Grand Tour, everybody has tired legs and that made the difference today for the breakaway to be successful," Asgreen said. "The weather conditions have definitely played in my favor. The final circuit was quite technical. Wet roads made it harder for the bunch to catch us." Stage 15 on Sunday will feature a big climb up Monte Grappa at the mid-point of the 219km route from Fiume Veneto to Asiago.
West Australian
24-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Aussie Groves makes podium but misses out at Giro
Kaden Groves got it all right to prevail in the sprint finale to the 14th stage as the Giro d'Italia had a warmly greeted stopover in Slovenia - but, alas for the Queensland speedster, it was only enough to earn him the runner-up prize for the day. For 16 seconds up ahead in the finale to the stage at Nova Gorica on Saturday, Denmark's Kasper Asgreen, who'd got into an early breakaway, escaped on his own to steal the win which had looked tailor-made for the sprinters. Groves, who had been looking for another win in the 108th Giro after victory on the crash-laden sixth stage in Naples, had to settle for second this time in the 168km trek from across the border in Treviso as the Alpecin-Deceuninck ace edged out Dutchman Olav Kooij, winner of Thursday's stage 12. For Groves that's now four top-five finishes in this year's race but this one will doubtless come as a frustration on a wet, slippery day after Asgreen stole a march from the breakaway five kilometres from home, splashing away to his second Grand Tour win. Behind him there had been chaos after a crash which enabled the overall race leader Isaac del Toro to gain time on many of his biggest rivals who'd been slowed by the pile-up about 22km from the finish that occurred on a narrow cobblestoned section. Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the leader's pink jersey, benefited by featuring in the second group containing Groves. But his UAE Team Emirates teammate Juan Ayuso, 2023 champion Primoz Roglic and top-placed Italian Antonio Tiberi all finished further behind, along with Australia's main GC hope Michael Storer. "We wanted to be ahead in case accidents like that happen or there are splits in the group," said del Toro. He entered the stage 38 seconds up on Ayuso and improved his lead to 1 minute 20 seconds, but his nearest challenger now is Briton Simon Yates (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) with his Spanish teammate dropping to third, 1:26 behind. The 2019 champion Richard Carapaz is fourth, 2:07 behind; and Roglic is 2:23 adrift in fifth, with Storer now 13th at 4:25. Mads Pedersen, who might have fancied a fifth stage win of the race, also had his chances ended in the crash and had to change bikes. "In the second half of a Grand Tour, everybody has tired legs and that made the difference today for the breakaway to be successful," Asgreen said. "The weather conditions have definitely played in my favor. The final circuit was quite technical. Wet roads made it harder for the bunch to catch us." Stage 15 on Sunday will feature a big climb up Monte Grappa at the mid-point of the 219km route from Fiume Veneto to Asiago.
