British rider Simon Yates produced a stunning performance on the penultimate stage of the Giro d’Italia to snatch the pink jersey from Isaac del Toro and claim his second Grand Tour title.
Del Toro came into the 20th and final competitive stage of the race with a 43-second lead over Richard Carapaz, with Yates trailing by one minute and 21 seconds in third.
Mexico’s Del Toro, 21, would have clinched victory in his maiden Giro by successfully negotiating the Colle delle Finestre, the highest point of this year’s race and where Yates’ hopes of winning evaporated in 2018.
But Yates, 32, exorcised those ghosts as he attacked on the brutal ascent to leave Del Toro and Carapaz – the 2019 winner – in his wake.
He not only wiped out Del Toro’s advantage but was one minute 41 seconds clear of his general classification rivals when he crested.
His Visma-Lease A Bike team had pulled off a masterstroke as team-mate Wout van Aert was in the breakaway group and allowed Yates to catch him on the descent, helping him build a comprehensive lead over the final 30km.
Jayco’s Australian rider Chris Harper, who was the first over the Colle delle Finestre summit, claimed the second Grand Tour stage win of his career, with Yates crossing one minute 57 seconds later, third on the day.
Yates was in tears as he hugged team staff at the finish, surrounded by media, with Del Toro crossing the line five minutes after him.
It means the Briton leads Del Toro by three minutes 56 seconds, with Carapaz in third, heading in to Sunday’s processional stage in Rome.
“I’m not really an emotional person but I couldn’t hold back the tears,” said Yates.
“It’s something I’ve worked towards year after year and I’ve had a lot of setbacks but I’ve finally managed to pull if off.”
Yates lost 30 seconds to Del Toro during Friday’s stage but recovered to become just the third British rider to win the Giro, after Chris Froome (2018) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (2020).
