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Canada Standard
2 days ago
- Sport
- Canada Standard
Britain's Yates wins Giro d'Italia after decisive mountain attack, secures first title on sixth attempt
ROME, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Simon Yates of Britain claimed his first overall victory in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday, wrapping up the 108th edition of the three-week race in Rome after seizing the leader's pink jersey with a bold mountain attack in the penultimate stage. The 31-year-old became the third British cyclist to win the Giro, completing the 3,443-kilometer route in 82 hours, 31 minutes and one second - finishing three minutes and 56 seconds ahead of Mexico's Isaac Del Toro. Ecuador's Richard Carapaz placed third, with Canada's Derek Gee and Italy's Damiano Caruso rounding out the top five. Yates entered Saturday's mountainous 20th stage in third overall, trailing Del Toro by one minute and 21 seconds. He launched a decisive move on the second-to-last climb, gaining nearly four minutes on his rival to take control of the general classification. "This is the defining moment of my career," Yates said post-race. "I've had some great results, but nothing compares to this. It's been an amazing three weeks." It marked Yates' second Grand Tour victory, following his 2018 Vuelta a Espana win. That same year, he wore the pink jersey for 13 stages at the Giro before being overtaken by compatriot Chris Froome. Yates, who last raced the Giro in 2021 and finished third, returned this year after a two-year absence, during which Slovenian riders Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar dominated in 2023 and 2024 respectively. With this win, Yates joins Froome and Tao Geoghegan Hart as the only Britons to have captured the Giro title. He also becomes just the second British cyclist to win multiple Grand Tours. Del Toro, 21, claimed the best young rider classification. Denmark's Mads Pedersen secured the points jersey, while Italy's Lorenzo Fortunato was crowned best climber. The race's top eight riders represented eight different teams. The next Grand Tour, the Tour de France, will take place from July 5 to 27.


The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Simon Yates Wins 2025 Giro d'Italia in Historic Finish
SIMON YATES of Visma-Lease a Bike won the 2025 Giro d'Italia on Sunday to claim his second Grand Tour victory, having effectively sealed the title a day earlier when he snatched the pink jersey from Isaac Del Toro. Yates and other riders received blessings from Pope Leo at the Vatican before the Briton cruised to the finish in Rome on the final stage, which was won by teammate Olav Kooij in a sprint finish. Yates, riding in all pink on a pink bike, also became the first rider since Alberto Contador in 2015 to win the Giro without claiming victory on any of the stages. His victory added to his 2018 Vuelta a Espana title. 'Honestly, it's still sinking in. What a huge moment in my career... I couldn't be prouder of the whole team over three weeks,' said Yates, the Giro's 12th different winner in as many editions. 'It's been good that we had the possibility to win the last stage with Olav. So we kept focused till the end. It's a defining moment of my career, there's no doubt about that. It's a sweet success.' Having raced for more than 82 hours, Yates eventually finished three minutes and 56 seconds ahead of Del Toro while Richard Carapaz was third, a further 47 seconds behind. Yates, 32, famously lost the title in 2018 on the Colle delle Finestre climb but this year he closed that painful chapter on the same slopes by taking the pink jersey with Saturday's stunning attack in the mountains. After a 3,300-km journey through Italy, Albania and Slovenia, the final stage was a 143-km ride starting and finishing in Rome, including eight laps of a 9.5 km long circuit. Pope's blessings The riders also had time to meet Pope Leo, who was gifted a pink jersey before they left Vatican City and rode into Rome. 'I hope that, just as you have learned to take care of your bodies, you will also take care of your spirits,' the pope told the riders. With the final stage underway, a relaxed Yates was all smiles as he cycled next to his twin brother Adam, putting his arm around the UAE Team Emirates rider. As the riders cycled past Rome's landmarks like the Colosseum, a six-man breakaway went 24 seconds ahead of the pink jersey group with less than 50 km to go. But with one lap left, only Josef Cerny and Enzo Paleni were left in the lead. Cerny then dropped Paleni to attempt a solo ride to the finish but he was quickly reeled in with six kilometres left. Visma-Lease a Bike wanted the perfect finish and they executed it to perfection when Wout Van Aert led the sprint out on the final kilometre before Kooij surged ahead to take the victory, his second after winning stage 12. 'We couldn't wish for a better final weekend. Yesterday was really amazing for the team and today I just had to give everything that was left in the legs,' Kooij said after his victory sealed a third stage win for the team this year. Kooij finished ahead of Kaden Groves and Matteo Moschetti as Visma-Lease a Bike became the first team in 26 years to win both the general classification and the final stage. 'When the ketchup bottle is almost empty... keep shaking, shaking, shaking,' Van Aert said. 'Then at some point everything comes out at once, that's what happened.'


The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Yates wins Giro d'Italia for second Grand Tour title
SIMON YATES of Visma-Lease a Bike won the 2025 Giro d'Italia on Sunday to claim his second Grand Tour victory, having effectively sealed the title a day earlier when he snatched the pink jersey from Isaac Del Toro. Yates and other riders received blessings from Pope Leo at the Vatican before the Briton cruised to the finish in Rome on the final stage, which was won by teammate Olav Kooij in a sprint finish. Yates, riding in all pink on a pink bike, also became the first rider since Alberto Contador in 2015 to win the Giro without claiming victory on any of the stages. His victory added to his 2018 Vuelta a Espana title. 'Honestly, it's still sinking in. What a huge moment in my career... I couldn't be prouder of the whole team over three weeks,' said Yates, the Giro's 12th different winner in as many editions. 'It's been good that we had the possibility to win the last stage with Olav. So we kept focused till the end. It's a defining moment of my career, there's no doubt about that. It's a sweet success.' Having raced for more than 82 hours, Yates eventually finished three minutes and 56 seconds ahead of Del Toro while Richard Carapaz was third, a further 47 seconds behind. Yates, 32, famously lost the title in 2018 on the Colle delle Finestre climb but this year he closed that painful chapter on the same slopes by taking the pink jersey with Saturday's stunning attack in the mountains. After a 3,300-km journey through Italy, Albania and Slovenia, the final stage was a 143-km ride starting and finishing in Rome, including eight laps of a 9.5 km long circuit. Pope's blessings The riders also had time to meet Pope Leo, who was gifted a pink jersey before they left Vatican City and rode into Rome. 'I hope that, just as you have learned to take care of your bodies, you will also take care of your spirits,' the pope told the riders. With the final stage underway, a relaxed Yates was all smiles as he cycled next to his twin brother Adam, putting his arm around the UAE Team Emirates rider. As the riders cycled past Rome's landmarks like the Colosseum, a six-man breakaway went 24 seconds ahead of the pink jersey group with less than 50 km to go. But with one lap left, only Josef Cerny and Enzo Paleni were left in the lead. Cerny then dropped Paleni to attempt a solo ride to the finish but he was quickly reeled in with six kilometres left. Visma-Lease a Bike wanted the perfect finish and they executed it to perfection when Wout Van Aert led the sprint out on the final kilometre before Kooij surged ahead to take the victory, his second after winning stage 12. 'We couldn't wish for a better final weekend. Yesterday was really amazing for the team and today I just had to give everything that was left in the legs,' Kooij said after his victory sealed a third stage win for the team this year. Kooij finished ahead of Kaden Groves and Matteo Moschetti as Visma-Lease a Bike became the first team in 26 years to win both the general classification and the final stage. 'When the ketchup bottle is almost empty... keep shaking, shaking, shaking,' Van Aert said. 'Then at some point everything comes out at once, that's what happened.'


RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Simon Yates wraps up Giro d'Italia triumph in Rome
Britain's Simon Yates sealed victory in the Giro d'Italia following the final stage from the Vatican City to Rome. Yates took a lead of almost four minutes into stage 21 and finished safely in the peloton as Visma-Lease a Bike team-mate Olav Kooij came out on top in a sprint finish. Yates effectively sealed victory on Saturday's penultimate stage when he exorcised his personal demons on the Colle delle Finestre with a stunning solo attack to claim the race leader's pink jersey. On the mountain where his dreams of victory were shattered by Chris Froome's famous solo breakaway in 2018, Yates turned the tables with a masterclass of his own as his rivals were left to question their own tactics. The 32-year-old Lancastrian rode away from leader Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz on the brutal gradients and the gravel to turn an 81-second deficit and third place into a three minute, 56-second lead over Del Toro. With the final stage a largely-ceremonial affair, which started with the leading riders meeting Pope Leo XIV, only a serious crash would have denied Yates a second Grand Tour victory following his success in the 2018 Vuelta a Espana. He is the third British rider to win the Giro after Froome in 2018 and Tao Geohegan Hart in 2020. Co Tyrone's Darren Rafferty (EF Education-Easypost) finished 19th in the white jersey classification (best young rider).
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Bury's Simon Yates finishes safely in peloton to seal victory at Giro d'Italia
Bury cyclist Simon Yates sealed victory in the Giro d'Italia following the final stage from the Vatican City to Rome. Yates took a lead of almost four minutes into stage 21 and finished safely in the peloton as Visma-Lease a Bike team-mate Olav Kooij came out on top in a sprint finish. Yates effectively sealed victory on Saturday's penultimate stage when he exorcised his personal demons on the Colle delle Finestre with a stunning solo attack to claim the race leader's pink jersey. READ MORE: BBC Race Across the World star, 24, dies after Stockport car crash READ MORE: School mates partied in Thailand on dream lads holiday - then police met them at Manchester Airport On the mountain where his dreams of victory were shattered by Chris Froome's famous solo breakaway in 2018, Yates turned the tables with a masterclass of his own as his rivals were left to question their own tactics. The 32-year-old rode away from leader Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz on the brutal gradients and the gravel to turn an 81-second deficit and third place into a three minute, 56-second lead over Del Toro. 'I still think it's sinking in,' Yates told TNT Sports after Sunday's finale. 'What a huge moment in my career, the defining moment. 'I've had some good success but I don't think anything comes close. 'I'm just incredibly proud of the whole team in the three weeks and, of course, I've just finished it off so an amazing three weeks. 'It's been a quick turnaround (from Saturday), we got the plane here to Rome and we kept the focus. 'A good chance for Olav today and he pulled it off. I'll celebrate for sure and see what's to come.' With the final stage a largely ceremonial affair, which started with the leading riders meeting Pope Leo XIV, only a serious crash would have denied Yates a second Grand Tour victory following his success in the 2018 Vuelta a Espana. He is the third British rider to win the Giro after Froome in 2018 and Tao Geohegan Hart in 2020.