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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Redemption for Yates on epic mountain climb as he closes in on Giro d'Italia title
SESTRIERE, Italy (AP) — Simon Yates produced one of the greatest rides of his career on one of cycling's most grueling climbs to all but win the Giro d'Italia on Saturday. Yates started the penultimate stage in third, one minute, 21 seconds behind previous leader Isaac Del Toro, but the British cyclist launched a solo attack on the beyond-category climb to Colle delle Finestre — the same mountain that spelled heartbreak for him seven years ago — to ride clear of his overall rivals. Advertisement Yates was openly sobbing after he crossed the line more than five minutes ahead of Del Toro. '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,' an emotional Yates said, as he was trying to hold back tears. 'I maybe look relaxed but I also had doubts this morning, if I could really do something, but the guys they encouraged me and believed in me, so yeah, thanks to them.' With just the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome left on Sunday, Yates moved into the lead of the three-week race and is all but certain to lift the Trofeo Senza Fine (Trophy With No End) for the first time. Advertisement Yates, who won the 2018 Spanish Vuelta, is 3 minutes, 56 seconds ahead of Mexico's Del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Ecuador's Richard Carapaz. Ottawa's Derek Gee is fourth, 6:23 behind Yates. 'I was close, and this is a thing, but at the end I didn't win," said Del Toro, who was nevertheless smiling as he saluted at the finish. "I will just keep working and I will come back for sure. "You need to be a great winner, you need to be a great loser, and I think I am a good loser, and chapeau for them. Congrats.' Redemption for Yates Yates' attack had echoes of Chris Froome's audacious move on the Finestre in 2018 that earned him the trophy. Advertisement It was also redemption for Yates, who had been leading the Giro at that point in 2018 having worn the pink jersey for 13 days, before cracking on that climb. It is the first time he has donned the maglia rosa since then. This time around, Yates made his move on the early slopes of the Finestre and had about 45 seconds on Del Toro and Carapaz when he hit the white gravel roads. The duo didn't collaborate behind him. 'We could have been the strongest but we were not the cleverest,' said Carapaz, the 2019 champion. 'In the end he (Del Toro) lost the Giro, he didn't know how to race well and the most clever rider won.' Yates crested the climb with a lead of 1:41 on the pair and caught up to Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Wout van Aert, who helped him pull farther away on the descent. Advertisement Australian cyclist Chris Harper claimed his first individual victory in a Grand Tour on Saturday's 20th stage, a 205-kilometer (127-mile) leg from Verres to Sestriere. Yates was third, behind Alessandro Verre. 'It's the peak of my career, I don't think anything will top this,' Yates said. 'I'm not getting any younger as well and to win these, especially the Giro, something that I've really targeted for many, many years … I think it's the best it will be.' It brought an end to a spell of bad luck at the Giro for Yates, who also had to withdraw from the Italian Grand Tour in 2020 and 2022 — because of coronavirus and a knee injury. 'I really have invested a lot of my career, my life, targeting this race,' he said. 'And yeah, a lot of setbacks. It's been hard to deal with.' Advertisement Del Toro:'No regrets' Del Toro is at the other end of his career and the 21-year-old Mexican rider — who has sparked cycling fever in his home country — has a glittering future after bursting onto the scene at the Giro, far surpassing expectations of him when the race started in Albania. 'I cannot be more happy, because in the beginning, before in Albania, for sure a lot of people cannot believe that I can be here,' Del Toro said. "The team always is having confidence in me in this type of things. The problem is me, trying to believe it. 'I lose and I feel super disappointment but I don't want to cry in camera ... is like this, cycling. I have no regrets and for sure I will come back really, really strong from this." ___ AP cycling: The Associated Press
NBC Sports
23-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Kooij wins 12th stage of Giro d'Italia in sprint finish, Del Toro keeps overall lead
VIADANA, Italy — Dutch cyclist Olav Kooij won the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish Thursday as Mexico's Isaac Del Toro slightly extended his overall lead in the pink jersey. Wout van Aert, the winner of Sunday's ninth stage, placed himself at the front as riders turned for home and led his Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Kooij into the final 200 meters. From there, Kooij then held off countryman Casper Van Uden and Britain's Ben Turner to secure the first Giro stage win of his career. 'I'd been waiting for this victory. In the previous two sprints, things didn't go as planned. But today, everything went smoothly and I'm really happy,' Kooij said. 'Only Wout can do such a long lead-out. I managed to jump onto Casper's wheel and then come around him.' They all finished in just under four hours. Del Toro picked up a two-second time bonus during an intermediate sprint section and leads by 33 seconds over Spaniard Juan Ayuso in second place and by 1 minute, 9 seconds from Italian Antonio Tiberi in third. The 21-year-old Del Toro became the first Mexican cyclist to lead the Giro when he finished second on Sunday. Thursday's stage started from Modena — home of the famed Basalmic vinegar and the sparkling red wine Lambrusco — and rolled through the countryside before finishing in Viadana in the Lombardy region. The slightly undulating 172-kilometer (107-mile) route was best suited to sprinters. In overcast and damp conditions a three-rider breakaway of Italians — Giosuè Epis, Andrea Pietrobon and Manuele Tarozzi — was caught about 37 kilometers from the end. Friday's slightly hilly 13th stage is 180 kilometers long, starting in Rovigo and finishing in Vicenza. The Giro ends in Rome on June 1. Primoz Roglic, the 2023 champion, is 1:26 behind Del Toro. The 35-year-old Roglic, a former ski jumper before turning to cycling, is aiming for a second Giro title and sixth Grand Tour title overall. The Slovenian has won the Spanish Vuelta a record-equaling four times. Roglic lost significant time after a crash and then a bike change on Sunday's tricky stage.
