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Thursday, May 22, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
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Current racing:
- May 9 - June 1: Giro d'Italia
Upcoming racing:
- May 29 - June 1: Tour of Norway
- June 8: Brussels Cycling Classic
- June 8 - 15: Critérium du Dauphiné
Latest completed racing:
- May 14 - 18: 4 Jours de Dunkerque
- May 18: Rund um Köln
- May 13: Classique Dunkerque
- May 11: Tro-Bro Léon
- May 10: GP du Morbihan
- May 9: Tour du Finistère
- April 27 - May 4: Tour of Turkey
- April 29 - May 4: Tour de Romandie
- May 1: Rund um den Finanzplaz Eschborn-Frankfurt
- April 27: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- April 24 - 27: Vuelta Asturias
We posted the report from from GC leader Isaac del Toro's UAE Team Emirates-XRG with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Richard Carapaz's Team EF Education-EasyPost:
Richard Carapaz thumped his chest and pumped his fist in the air as he crossed the finish line, taking the victory on stage 11 at the Giro d’Italia.
When the peloton caught the break on the final categorized climb of the day, Richard seized his opportunity. He blasted past the bunch as the summit loomed and rode solo to the line.
"We left it very late to make the move today,” Richard said. “It was a very, very tough stage. And from the very first climb, I saw that so many people were suffering and I knew that I didn’t have good legs but I chose the right moment because I knew that I could select the group and I could also make it to the finish. And it was almost like a time trial to make it all the way home today.”
The squad always knew today’s stage would be a tough one to win as it had the potential to reshuffle the general classification. Sport director Juanma Gárate predicted offensive racing today and knew that Richard’s fighting spirit would serve him well.
Richard Carapaz solos across the finish line. RCS Sport photo
“He takes everything very seriously,” Juanma said of Richard. “He does everything in a very professional way. We started talking about the Giro already in September last year right after the Vuelta. The spring was not very good but he raised his hand and said, ‘I’m going to prepare for the Giro. I’m going to be good, so believe I’m going to be there.’ Obviously after yesterday’s TT, we lost a little bit more time than we expected but the determination he has is amazing and we didn’t have any doubts that he would keep on fighting.”
“On this last climb, Richard asked how steep it was,” Juanma said, “and we said it was regular until 1k before the top and to just follow your instinct and don’t stop yourself and just go for it. He decided to go. He had the momentum.”
Once Richard took off, the peloton never saw him again.
“It has been awhile [since my last win] so this is very, very special for me and extremely exciting,” Richard said. “Great work. And I want to dedicate it to my family and to my son, it’s his birthday today, and to my wife as well. I hope they enjoyed what I did today.”
Richard now sits in sixth place on the overall classification with plenty of racing yet to come. Vamos, Richie!
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Here's the Giro report from fourth-place Tom Pidcock's Team Q36.5:
Tom Pidcock rode to a fourth place in the challenging 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia. The profile was hard enough as it was but the long fight for the breakaway made it even harder. Xabier Mikel Azparren tried several times but these groups never got the green light.
A large group of 35 with Damien Howson and Mark Donovan did get a bit of a gap but it was never more than two minutes with UAE – Team Emirates at the front. Most of the group were caught while five remained up front. Damo and Mark set to help Tom Pidcock who had gotten into a bit of trouble on the Alpe san Pellegrino climb.
“I owe it to Damo and Mark that this race was still within reach for me,” Pidcock said after the finish. “I got dropped on the long climb and they got me back up. I wasn’t near my best on that long climb.”
After the last five riders of the breakaway were eventually caught, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team helped set the pace because the finish would suit Pidcock’s strengths.
The field sprint: Tom Pidcock (on right) finishes fourth. Sirotti photo
“It was one of these days we thought it could be a breakaway day but it ended up being a GC day making it very tough,” Pidcock analysed. “I asked Mark and Damo to pull and see what would come of it. That attack by Carapaz was pretty impressive to be honest. For me, I still take this race day by day.”
Damien Howson also gave his summary of the day:
“It was very fast at the start. I had never done that climb before but it was pretty much a 45-minute threshold effort and then some more after that. It was super demanding. I had a minute head start on the climb which enabled me to crest it at the front. Then it was about staying composed. Tom showed his class at the finish again so all-in all a good day out.”
The Giro d’Italia continues on Thursday with stage 12 between Modena and Viadana (Oglio-Po). The start is quite hilly but the last 70 of the 172 kilometers are completely flat.
Fifth-place Egan Bernal's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this Giro report:
Egan Bernal powered to fifth place on the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia, with Thymen Arensman maintaining 10th on the GC.
Bernal finished just behind solo winner Richard Carapaz (EF Education - Easy Post) in the bunch, powering to fifth place to maintain his GC position in 11th place, while Arensman rode strongly, battling back to finish in the same group in 14th.
Egan Bernal at the teams presentation ceremony before the start of the 2025 Giro d'Italia. Sirotti photo
The 186km stage saw Josh Tarling and Jonathan Castroveijo make the first significant move of the day for the Grenadiers, heading up the road as the riders began to approach the major climb of the day, the category one Alpe San Pellegrino.
The pair pushed on with a group of 30 riders at the start of the climb, before Bernal attacked from the group behind. Castroveijo dropped back to help, and Bernal rode straight onto his wheel, powering along with Juan Ayuso and GC lead Isaac Del Toro (UAE Emirates - XRG).
The four continued to work together, but the peloton regrouped as they reached the top of the punishing pass. Bernal was rejoined by Arensman who worked hard to regain contact following the climb.
A group of five went clear, but were caught within the final 15km, with Lucas Hamilton and Brandon Rivera both pulling strong turns at the front of the chasing peloton.
With seven kilometres remaining, Carapaz attacked hard, allowing him to take the hilltop win on his own, while the bunch sprinted behind to see Bernal take fifth and Arensman 14th.
Reaction:
Egan Bernal - “Before the stage, we planned we may attack in the Alpe San Pellegrino climb if we were feeling good legs. We were aware that there were many kilometres to go from the summit, but we wanted to try our luck and test the other GC riders. Had somebody struggled, we may have continued pushing.
“I was not feeling super at the start of the stage, but my body improved as kilometres went by. I’m happy that Richard Carapaz has won. He deserved this victory: he is very brave and his attack was very powerful.
“I missed the right attack, as I was a bit too far back and thought they would reel him back in. Anything can happen in this kind of stage.”
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Here's the Giro report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Soudal Quick-step kicked off the day by going to the podium to collect the prize awarded to the best team of the previous stage – thanks to the solid displays of Ethan Hayter, Mattia Cattaneo and Josef Cerny in the individual time trial – and continued it by placing James Knox in a large breakaway group that formed after a crazy first hour of racing, during which the peloton covered 53 kilometers.
The peloton on the San Pellegrino climb. RCS photo
The group had the numbers, and on paper, an important chance to go all the way, but the bunch pushed a punishing pace on the steep slopes of the Alpe di San Pellegrino – which returned at the Giro after 25 years – and the escapees were caught. Another group, much smaller this time, managed to get away and remained off the front until Pietra di Bismantova. There, as soon as they were reabsorbed, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-Easy Post) took off and soloed to victory on this 163rd Giro d’Italia stage to conclude in Reggio Emilia.
Once again, James Knox was the first Soudal Quick-Step rider home in Castelnovo ne’ Monti and moved up two positions, remaining the team’s best placed rider in the general classification going into Thursday’s stage, a pan-flat one which will bring the sprinters again in the spotlight.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike posted this Giro report:
The eleventh stage of the Giro d’Italia delivered plenty of surprises. At Team Visma | Lease a Bike, there was satisfaction all around after the finish. Simon Yates was sharp once again and managed to maintain his fourth place in the general classification.
Before the start, the big question was whether the stage would favour the breakaway or turn into a showdown between the GC contenders. In the end, it was the latter. Wout van Aert tested the waters several times in the opening phase, while Bart Lemmen, Steven Kruijswijk and Wilco Kelderman managed to sneak into a breakaway. Not long after, the favourites put their cards on the table.
That all happened on the Alpe San Pellegrino—a 13.8-kilometre climb averaging 8.8 percent. It was steep enough to provoke some serious action. Yates looked to be in trouble for a moment, but thanks to the support of his three teammates who had dropped back, he held firm and stayed with the group of the pink jersey.
Giro stage 11 gets started. Sirotti photo
Later in the stage, Yates was alert once more when the pace picked up again. By then, Richard Carapaz had launched a successful attack and went on to win the stage. Yates crossed the line ten seconds behind the Ecuadorian, finishing in the reduced group of favourites.
“It was a good day for us”, said sports director Marc Reef. “Bart, Steven, and Wilco were in the break, which gave us flexibility. One of the scenarios we had anticipated was action on the San Pellegrino, and that’s exactly what happened. In the end, we had four riders among the best thirty. On the final climb, Simon responded well to the attacks and finished with the rest of his rivals. All in all, we came through the stage in good shape.”
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And here's the Giro stage 11 report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
The return to “road stages” proved quite harsh on the Giro this Wednesday, as the peloton experienced a very intense eleventh stage towards Castelnovo ne’ Monti. It took nearly two hours for a massive breakaway to form, including Kevin Geniets and Rémy Rochas, but the peloton never eased off, resulting in a very fast race despite a lot of climbing. While Rémy Rochas was able to hold on to secure a fine seventeenth place at the finish, among the GC riders, David Gaudu, on the other hand, was dropped early on.
The “breakaway days” aren’t that many in a Grand Tour, so when one appears, no one wants to be left out of the party. This is what happened on Wednesday from Viareggio, on stage 11 of the Giro, featuring nearly 4,000 metres of elevation gain over 186 kilometers of racing, and including the very challenging Alpe San Pellegrino (13,8 km at 8,8%) at the halfway point. Attacks kept on coming for more than an hour in Tuscany, but the relatively flat profile of the first sixty kilometres never allowed a group to break away.
Before the stage start, the riders get their bikes. Sirotti photo
It was only as the day’s major climb approached that a small peloton broke away from the bigger one. “It was quite a crazy stage,” said Rémy Rochas, a member of this group along with Kevin Geniets. “The team’s objective was to be in the breakaway. For me, the goal was to stay in the last twenty positions for the first eighty kilometres. In the end, I came towards the front at kilometre 75 on a small hill and found myself in the lead before the long climb, where the fight immediately started. I felt good, but I wanted to ride smart. I really wanted to take my own pace”.
The breakaway split apart very early. Kevin Geniets was caught by the peloton, but Rémy Rochas kept chasing a few riders as they approached the summit. “My goal was to try to jump across in the last kilometres of climbing, but in the end, the peloton came back first,” he said. The peloton was at that point extremely reduced, and almost entirely made up of the GC leaders, without David Gaudu, who had been distanced a few kilometers earlier. “In addition to the context we all know and his delayed preparation, the consequences of his hand injury proved a little more severe than we thought,” explained Stéphane Goubert. “He’s on antibiotics, and his body didn’t react well to all that today. He tried to get into the mix, but when the climbs came, the feelings he’d had at the start were confirmed. These days happen, and you have to accept them.”
The French rider was then supported by Sven Erik Bystrom until the finish line, while at the front, Rémy Rochas kept the wheel of the small pink jersey peloton until the final climb, with ten kilometres to go.Richard Carapaz launched the fight among the favorites and prevailed at the finish line. The Groupama-FDJ’s pocket climber came ten seconds later in a reduced chasing group and was able to secure seventeenth place.
“I tried to play my cards right in the final,” he said. “I got pushed around a bit in my positioning, and because of the various accelerations, I didn’t have much energy left to sprint, but I’m still happy with the day.” “We can be happy with the spirit at the start,” Stéphane emphasized. “The guys did what they had to do despite the difficulty, they committed to the fight, and Rémy was up to the task today. He rode really well to get the best possible result.” David Gaudu crossed the line about twenty-seven minutes later and is now no longer in contention for the general classification. “There are still quite a few stages left and each day will be an opportunity,” Rémy concluded. “The most important thing is to stay together to support each other, in the most difficult days as well as in the happiest ones”.
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