Australian cyclist Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla) won stage 20 of the Giro d’Italia this Saturday, held over 205 kilometers between Verrès and Sestriere in the Italian Alps. In the finish line, British rider Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) secured his victory in the general classification, taking advantage of the battle between Mexican Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) and Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (EF Education).
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Yates finished third, 1:57 behind the winner, and made a definitive change to the overall standings as he gained over five minutes on Del Toro and Carapaz.
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What happened between Del Toro and Carapaz?
Until Friday, it seemed like the 2025 Giro would be Latin American and would be defined between the Mexican Del Toro and the Ecuadorian Carapaz, who were first and second in the general classification before starting the penultimate stage.
Key player, although in a supporting role, was the Belgian Wout van Aert from Visma-Lease a Bike who showed his good form at the Rocca Canavese pass. When the Corsa Rosa faced the Colle delle Finestre with very steady 9% gradients, riding on asphalt and dirt, Carapaz attacked at the bottom of Finestre and took Del Toro with him, but Yates’ reaction was quick and he found in Van Aert his best ally. The Englishman caught up with the two leaders of this Giro and crowned Finestre with a 1:37 lead over Del Toro and Carapaz, who were still together at that point.
Both the Mexican and the Ecuadorian were victims of a Van Aert who acted as a motorcycle for Yates and repeated the work he had already done for his team leader in Hautacam in 2022, that time with the Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard to catch the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar during that Tour de France.
To the advantage of Yates and the Visma-Lease a Bike team, Del Toro and Carapaz fought, which prevented them from working together to catch up with the British rider. The Mexican seemed more interested in marking the Ecuadorian than in closing the gap with Yates.
Once the stage was over, Carapaz, who has much more experience than the young Del Toro, made it clear his view of what happened in the penultimate stage: “We could have been the strongest, but the smartest won...He (Del Toro) lost the Giro. He didn’t know how to race well and the smartest won.”.
Ecuadorian Carapaz refused to work with Del Toro, upset because the Mexican did not want to help him when Yates began his breakaway.
When is the last stage of the Giro?
Now in the pink jersey, Yates will arrive at stage 21 in Rome as the overall leader with a +3:56 lead over Del Toro and a +4:43 lead over Carapaz.
With a stage through the Italian capital on flat terrain that does not allow for major breakaways, Simon Yates is already the virtual champion of the Giro d’Italia.
Barring a catastrophe, it will be Yates’ second title in one of the three Grand Tours, after winning the Vuelta a España in 2018 and his first as a cyclist for Team Visma, which he joined this season after leaving Jayco-AlUla.