2025 Giro d'Italia Stage 20
Redemption for Simon Yates!
“My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it—all idealism is mendacity in the face of what is necessary—but love it.” Nietzsche.
Part 1. 2018 Giro d’Italia, Stage 19.
Simon Yates started the race today in the pink leaders jersey, which he had been wearing for 14 days straight. Yates had won the jersey on Stage 6, when he had finished a close 2nd to Esteban Chaves on a tough stage up to Mount Etna. Once Yates donned the famous Maglia Rosa, he became unstoppable, and went on to win Stage 9, Stage 11 and Stage 15. The Italians were loving it, they had not witnessed such ciclismo, such aggression from a pink jersey wearer for years. Yates was dynamic, he wanted to win every stage, he went after every attack, and at the stage of Stage 19 he had a comfortable 28 second lead on 2nd placed rider Tom Dumoulin.
Earlier in the week Yates’s lead has stretched to 2:11, but the time trial on Stage 16 was where the big Dutchman Dumoulin had planned to make up time. Simon Yates is on a time trial expert, he is a climber, and everyone expected Domoulin to take the pink jersey on Stage 16, but Yates was plucky, and he managed to finish his time trial faster than people expected. So at the start of Stage 19, Yates must have been feeling fairly confident. We were back on his favourite terrain, the high mountains. The Stage was to pass over the famous Colle della Finestre, a HC categorised mountain 18km long and half of that was gravel. Domoulin is a time trial specialist and can rider uphill ok but only to tempo, he is not able to make repeated attacks like Yates, he cannot ride out of the saddle for an extended period of time like Yates can. Stage 19 was where Yates would reassert his dominance on the race, and out the GC to rest. Stage 19 of the 2018 Giro d’Italia was going to be one of the most historic Grand Tour stages of all time. But not because of Simon Yates.
Those of us who remember the 2018 Giro d’Italia will likely remember it for one thing only, not Simon Yates’s early dominance of the race, with his there stage wins, they will remember it for Chris Froome’s stunning come back on Stage 19, where he attacked with 80km to go and came from absolutely nowhere to win the Giro d’Italia. The crowning achievement on his illustrious career (and coincidentally the last time Froome won a bike race, and he is still racing this year - well training anyway).
Yates cracked on the Colle della Finestre and ended up finishing the stage in 79th place, nearly 39 minutes behind Froome. He had worn the pink jersey for 14 straight days, but it doesn’t matter how many days you wear the leaders jersey in a Grand Tour, the only day that matters is the final day.
Part 2, 2025 Giro d’Italia Stage 20.
“What’s past is prologue”. Shakespeare (and at the end of the movie JFK)
The Colle della Finestre sits right in the middle of the Stage today, just like it did back in 2018, and we can only wonder at what was going though Simon Yates’s head last night. In Stage 19 Yates had looked vulnerable when del Toro and Carapaz attacked together towards the end of the race. Yates had started the day 51 seconds behind del Toro, but ended up losing 30 seconds, which made him seem like the weaker of the three riders bidding for the podium.
Here is the profile for Stage 20
As always the day started with a breakaway, and just like yesterday on Stage 19 it was a large one. Over 30 riders were up the road and their lead over the main peloton went up to nearly 9 minutes. The breakaway group rode together over the first two climbs of the day, the cat 4 Corio, then the larger cat 2 Colle de Lys. In the valley while the race was approaching the Colle della Finestre the gap to the breakaway extended to over 10 minutes, behind in the peloton UAE and EF were taking turns to control the front of the race, just like yesterday it looked like the breakaway would be allowed to take the stage and we might not get much GC action.
At 45km to go the breakaway group hit the lower slopes of the Finestre, and Mads Pedersen came to the front riding at a punishing pace up the 11% gradient. Almost immediately riders started to go out of the back as even some of the lightest climbers could not hold Pedersen’s pace.
Pedersen, jersey open and sweating pulled the breakaway along for the first 2km of the climb, until his team mate Carlos Verona got on the radio to say ‘slow down I’m being dropped!’ After that Pedersen dropped back to help Verona, pulling up alongside him and squirting water down his back.
43km to go, the main peloton still 10 minutes back have just started climbing. There was a bit sprint for positioning before the road turned left into the base of the Colle. EF have made sure that Carapaz is well placed at the front of the peloton and have three pink and white jersey’s around the Equadorian. UAE are just behind them.
42km to go, EF are setting such a fast pace at the front of the peloton that key UAE domestiques are being dropped! Adam Yates has fallen back, so has Rafal Mijka! We have only just got to the base of this 18km climb and it looks like Richard Carapaz is ready to try and go solo! Carapaz has been led out by his team mates whole have been burned off one by one like the different sections of an Apollo rocket in its way to the moon! Now Carapaz is off on his own and del Toro (himself without any remaining team mates) has sped over to join him!
41km to go, Carapaz and del Toro are off on their own now up the Finestre and Simon Yates has been left behind again! Carapaz is at the front and looks like he means business, del Toro looks comfortable on Carapaz’s wheel, letting him do all the work. Carapaz is up and down off the saddle, and del Toro remains seated, even leaning back with both hands off the bars to take a gel. Simon Yates is losing time, 20 seconds and counting.
40km to go, Simon Yates gets out of the saddle and decides to increase his pace. He quickly makes up ground on Carapaz and del Toro, riding up the steep narrow road with its smooth looking tarmac and shady tree canopy. Yates looks quick and powerful, and happens upon the two Latin American race leaders as he emerged from around a bend in the road. Yates, out of the saddle rides up behind del Toro, then overtakes them both and goes to the front! Now Yates leads Carapaz and del Toro and the trio ride together through the trees, constantly sizing each another up with glances and little test of acceleration. Carapaz comes to the front again, Yates drifts to the back and then attacks again riding off the front. Del Toro does nothing and sits behind Carapaz waiting for him to bring Yates back. Carapaz gets out of the saddle and rushes in front of Yates dragging del Toro along with him. Yates hangs out in the back again brooding.
39km to go, as the road bends around a switchback Yates surges ahead again, but the group comes together again as Carapaz accelerates. Del Toro has spend no energy yet, letting the other two do all the work. 300m up the road Yates makes another dashing acceleration but this time Carapaz does not react, and Yates has escaped! Del Toro sits patiently on Carapaz’s wheel waiting for him to react, but Carapaz isn’t reacting! The pair have been caught out and now Simon Yates is riding away from the two race leaders!
38km to go, Derek Gee has joined Carapaz and del Toro and they are letting him do the pacing now, Simon Yates is riding up the mountain towards Wout van Aert and salvation! Every time del Toro, Carapaz and Gee get around a bend then look up the road to see Yates disappearing around the next corner. It is unbelievable that Del Toro did not jump on Yates’s wheel’s when he attacked, del Toro has followed every attack that Carapaz has made for the past two weeks, now he is just sitting behind Gee and Carapaz letting them do the work.
37km to go, Carapaz attacks from the wheel of Derek Gee and del Toro follows, the pair have left Gee behind and now Carapaz has Simon Yates in his sights again. Yates gets out of the saddle and pushes forward, he will not allow himself to be caught again. Carapaz keeps attacking and del Toro just rides hard enough to stick on his wheel. Yates is keeping a short distance in front of Carapaz and del Toro, but is not looking behind in panic, Yates is looking confident and composed.
36km to go, Carapaz is looking tired now, and is spending longer and longer in the saddle. Del Toro is so close behind him that if he were to put his head down it would rest on Carapaz’s shoulder.
20 seconds further up the road Simon Yates is gaining strength, the demons of 2018 are being exorcised!
35km to go, and at the very front of the race the road surface has turned to gravel for Chris Harper and Alessandro Verre, the two riders with a 1 minute lead on the race. The gravel roads continue for the next 8km until the riders reach the summit.
34km to go, and it seems that Isaac del Toro is in his own little world and is solely focused on the back of Richard Carapaz’s wheel. Carapaz only cares about staying in front of del Toro, so the two riders continue to mark each other while 40 seconds up the road Simon Yates is riding to victory!
Simon Yates has no bottles in his cages, either to stay as light as possible or just because he’s run out of water. He continues to eat up the road surface and is heading for the gravel section. Behind, Carapaz has slowed his pace, and turns around to look his rival in the eyes. Del Toro almost comes to a stop beside him, ‘what are we doing?’ He seems to say, Carapaz looks up the road ‘are you going to ride in front of me today?’ we imagine his asking. The moto with race photographer that has been following the pair has come up a stop 30 meters up the mountain, and now Derek Gee speeds past the pair with Mads Pedersen who has been dropped from the breakaway. Del Toro has informed Carapaz with his body language that no, he will not ride on the front. He is the young bull, the Torito, the Maglia Rosa, and he will not ride for Carapaz. So Carapaz heads off again, slowly at first and then Carapaz bursts away! Del Toro is off after him, like a dog chasing a hare through a field! They blast past Derek Gee! Carapaz looks behind him to see if he has finally shaken del Toro, but del Toro is on him like a homing missile. Del Toro reaches his favourite spot, the back of Carapaz’s wheel, and there he remains. I wonder if there is a ‘what three words’ location for the back of Richard Carapaz’s wheel? While all this has been going on Simon Yates has extended his lead and is now 1 minute up the road.
33km to go, Simon Yates hits the gravel! He takes a bidon from a Visma team member on the road side and immediately starts to squirt water out of it to shed some weight. Some time later the inseparable pair Carapaz and del Toro hit the gravel too.
Yates is now only 15 seconds away from riding into the virtual pink jersey now! He looks very strong, seated, pumping the pedals, completely focused. Wout van Aert should be close by now and it will be a relief for Yates when he reaches his team mate.
Carapaz/ del Toro are riding with Derek Gee again, letting the Canadian take the wind and dust at the front.
At the very front of the race Chris Harper attacks and rides away from Alessandro Verre, it looks like Chris Harper Ould take this stage, but for now the focus is on the three race leaders, and the spectacular come back that Adam Yates is in the middle of making!
32km to go, Simon Yates is still going very strong in this gravel section of the Colle della Finestre. The air is clear for Yates at the moment, but back with the pink jersey group a moto riding in front of them is spewing up clouds of white dust for them to inhale.
Chris Harper riders through the Red Bull km, we can just about make him out in dust. Now Simon Yates seems to have found another gear, and is working his way through the groups of stragglers from the breakaway. He is now officially the race leader on the road!
31km to go, del Toro has woken up and is trying to ride away fro Carapaz finally, perhaps he’s just heard the news that the race is falling away from him. Del Toro has worn the pink jersey since Stage 10 and it has just now dawning on him that he might not be wearing it tomorrow. Del Toro tries to attack but it is not happening, Carapaz and Gee easily catch up and del Toro reluctantly resumes his positing behind Carapaz’s wheel.
30km to go, Yates is riding himself into the history books now! he has over a minute and a half on del Toro, and as del Toro gets weaker Yates is only getting stronger! Yates knows how del Toro must be feeling, he’s been there, done that! On the same mountain where Simon Yates lost the 2018 Giro, Simon Yates is now winning the 2025 Giro! On the same gravel, he is riding over the dried up sweat of defeat from 7 years ago. Yates is reacquainting himself with this massive monster of a mountain, and finally making friends with it!
29km to go, and up at the front of the race Chris Harper, the 30-year-old Aussie from Jayuco is nearing the snow capped summit of this climb. Simon Yates getting close to the top now too, there is only 3km left to climb. Yates looks down the mountain and can see del Toro and Carapaz three switchback below him, almost 2 minute behind. Carapaz still seems determined to ride away from del Toro, but the task is pure Sisyphean. Isaac del Toro has become almost like a parasite on Carapaz’s wheel now, and cannot be shaken off.
28km to go, Chris Harper is riding though a sea of spectators now, hundreds of people are lining the cliff like sides of this mountain pass with flags waving. We are over 2000m now and among the low clouds which have mixed with the white chalky dust of the gravel road to make visibility low. Chris Harper is over a minute and a half ahead of every other rider on the road, and he takes the famous Cima Coppi prize, being the man first over the highest point in the Giro.
27km to go and now Simon Yates prepares to go through the gauntlet of fans and summit the Finestra, which he has finally slayed! His lead on del Toro and Carapaz is still over a minute and a half, and he knows that as soon as he is over the summit he has Wout van Aert to link up with.
23km to go and Yates has reached the summit of the Finestre and now starts to descend. He has laid the demons of 2018 to rest! Carapaz and del Toro follow much further behind, and the crowd go crazy for the sight of the Maglia Rosa.
20km to go, Simon Yates is zipping down the narrow windy descent of the Colle della Finestre looking for Wout Van Aert, after a while we finally spot the Belgian superstar, and Yates takes his wheel, puts his seatbelt on and straps in for the Van Aert express!
18km to go, the km’s are ticking down really quickly now as we go down the Finestre, del Toro and Carapaz are trying to make up the time they lost on the climb, with all that messing around and del Toro refusing the work. Del Toro is at the front now finally but the Van Aert express has left the station!
16km to go, currently Simon Yates sits about 30 seconds in front of del Toro on the GC, so at this point del Toro could still salvage his lead if he can start working on the next climb. The Sestriere sits at the bottom of this descent.
15km to go and our leader Chris Harper is now on the Sestriere. It is a long ramp that starts off gentle but steep towards the summit, a ski resort.
13km to go, Richard Carapaz is enjoying a rate view of Isaac del Toro’s arse, as del Toro continues to ride in front of him on the descent of the Finestre. Simon Yates is still being pulled along by WVA, and he has a 2 minutes on del Toro now. Once Van Aert gets to the bottom of the Sestriere he will ride until he blows up for his team mate, then Yates will be on his own.
11km to go, Wout Van Aert’s work on the flat valley road is putting more and more time into del Toro and Carapaz. The lead is 2:30 now, and growing!
10km to go, del Toro is on the radio to his team car, ‘what should I do?’ he seems to ask, del Toro looks over his shoulder and asks Carapaz a question, Carapaz shakes his head. ‘No’. We don’t need to be told what the question is. Simon Yates is over 3 minutes ahead now, de Toro’s hold on the pink jersey is over.
8km to go, Wout Van Aert has about 5 passengers on the Van Aert express now, they are getting a free ride. An Astana rider tries to grab a bidon from a team member on the road side but the pace is too quick and the bottle flies out of his hand and into the road under the wheels of a following car. It explodes as the car’s wheel crushes it.
7km to go, del Toro and Carapaz are going backwards now, as the gap to Simon Yates carries on increasing on this valley road and now onto the slopes of the Sestriere, they are over 4 minutes in front now and it looks like Simon Yates is going to win this Giro by minutes!
6k to go, what an amazing job Wout van Aert has done for Simon Yates! he continues to drive a hard pace at the front and the tiny frame of Simon Yates is completely sheltered from the wind in Van Aert’s slipstream. We start to wonder now what on earth has happened to Team UAE Emirates today, what were that tactics? Del Toro has focussed 100% of his attention to Richard Carapaz, and has ignored Simon Yates even when he attacked from right under his nose. Del Toro is young but his team have a lot of experience in winning Grand Tours. It is truly baffling.
5km to go, and the heroic Belgian giant Wout Van Aert finally pulls off the front, and almost comes to a complete stop on the road. He is spent. Simon Yates now launches an attack on the Sestriere in the big ring. He is now over 5 minutes ahead of del Toro, and starting to gain on the majority of the breakaway riders. Up ahead Chris Harper still has 1:50 on his nearest rival, so his stage win seems sealed.
Yates is striding ahead now, easily rinding out the saddle. He is being powered by elation and the sheer joy of knowing that victory awaits him at the top of this final climb. A victory that was then from him cruelly in 2018, in 2018 he was riding on this very same road and experiencing the very worst day in his life on a bicycle. Now powers forward riding past those bitter memories, having the best day of his life! What a place to make a comeback!
3km to go, Simon Yates is still in the big chain ring and his time gap to del Toro is now 6 minutes! We are watching Simon Yates riding towards the finish line now knowing that he has won the 2025 Giro d’Italia. The fans on the roadside seem to know too. He as not won a stage in this race, he has not worn the leaders jersey once, but as I said before, it doesn’t matter how many days you wear the leaders jersey in a Grand Tour, the only day that matters is the final day.
1km to go, we apologise to Chris Harper who has had the ride of his life today. Sorry that you have not had our attention. As Simon Yates passes under the 2km to go banner Chris Harper passes under the flamme rouge. He is able to ride the last km knowing that he cannot be caught and has plenty of time to celebrate and soak it all in. It is another great breakaway win for Jayco! Once Harper crosses the line we look back to Simon Yates as he heads home. Yates has looked focussed and expressionless over the last 5 and a half hours, but now as he approaches the finish line the emotions start to flood out. Yates’s head goes down and though he crosses the finish line without even raising an arm, as soon as he reaches his team on the side of the road we hear great loud sobs of tears. They are coming from Yates, he is crying like a baby!
It takes an age for Isaac Del Toro to cross the line, Yates has already been ushered away and is preparing for the podium by the time the pink jersey crosses the line. It is all very odd, because del Toro sprints to the finish line, like he has energy to spare. He passes the line and gives a little wave. Del Toro looks happy and received congratulations from his team mates. He has won the white jersey for the best young rider, but does not seem that bothered about losing pink.
What a day! What a stage! What an end to this Giro d’Italia! You couldn’t have scripted it any better. They will be celebrating with black pudding up in Bury tonight!!
Here are the results of the stage:
Chris Harper
Alessandro Verre (1:49)
Simon Yates (1:57)
Gianmarco Garofoli (3:52)
Remy Rochas (3:57)
Martin Marcellusi (4:31)
Carlos Verona (4:31)
Max Poole (6:45)
Isaac Del Toro (7:10)
Giulio Pelissarri (7:10)
And now lets take a look at the final GC standings of the 2025 Giro d’Italia
Simon Yates
Isaac del Toro (3:56)
Richard Carapaz (4:43)
Derek Gee (6:23)
Damiano Caruso (7:32)
Giulio Pellizzari (9:28)
Egan Bernal (12:42)
Einer Rubio (13:05)
Brandon McNulty (13:36)
Michael Storer (14:27)
Thanks for reading, and I’m sorry this report is a day late, it took a long time to write!
