Seven years ago, Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) lost to eventual winner Chris Froome on the Colle delle Finestre hill at the Giro d'Italia, but today the British rider managed to turn the climb to his advantage.
Yates has just made his mark on the Colle delle Finestre, overtaking long-time pink jersey holder Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) to take the overall lead with a day to go before the Giro's end. Yates' victory is essentially assured, as he leads del Toro by nearly four minutes.
"When the Giro route was published I thought I wanted to do something here and close this chapter," said an emotional Yates after the finish. "I'm still speechless that I really did it. I felt good throughout the Giro but I never had the right moment to show what I was capable of. Today that opportunity came. I tried to get away from Richard Carapaz and Isaac del Toro because I knew I was very strong at my pace - and that's exactly what happened. It's incredible, I'm trying to find the words but they just won't come - sorry."
Tears started flowing from Yates' eyes almost immediately after crossing the finish line, and they continued 20 minutes later when he appeared in front of the television cameras. Even at the press conference - long after the stage, when most of the riders had already gathered - Yates' eyes were still wet.
"I'm quite emotional. This Giro is something I've been working towards for many, many years, but I've missed out on it. But today is my day. I've really dedicated a lot of my career and my life to this race and there have been a lot of setbacks along the way. It's been tough. You can see everyone's reaction - they believed in me," said Yates. "Even this morning I was hesitant to even try anything because the two guys ahead of me have been stronger for most of the race. But my teammates believed in me from the start. You can see everyone's reaction - they believed in me. Even this morning I was hesitant to even try anything because the two guys ahead of me have been stronger for most of the race. But the guys believed in me from the start. It's all just starting to sink in, but it's a bit like a fairy tale. I really can't believe I did it."
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 31, 2025
