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Thursday, May 29, 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
- May 29 - June 1: Tour of Norway
Upcoming racing:
- 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 second-place Romain Bardet's Team Picnic-PostNL with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Isaac del Toro's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:
Isaac del Toro delivered a resounding response to the pressure of his rivals at the Giro d’Italia, winning stage 17 in style and extending his lead in the Maglia Rosa. It was a remarkable display from the young 21-year-old, who had suffered time losses in the previous stage and showed all of his character to turn the tables on his opponents in the final kilometres of Wednesday’s stage.
Having weathered the attacks of his fellow podium contenders earlier in the stage, the Mexican delivered a searing attack on the final climb of the day, before distancing both Romain Bardet (Picnic PostNL) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) on the run to home. Coming across the line alone in Bormio, Del Toro sealed the first Grand Tour stage victory of his fledgling career.
Isaac del Toro wins stage 17. Sirotti photo
In doing so, the race leader claimed a 40th victory of the season for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and became the first Mexican to win a stage of the Giro in 23 years. In fact, Del Toro is only the second Mexican to do so in history. It was a performance to be proud of for the Emirati squad, who had surrounded the Maglia Rosa with numbers and ensured that the stage was up for grabs in the finale.
Greeting his teammate Rafał Majka at the finish, Del Toro could scarcely believe what he had just achieved, but speaking to the awaiting TV cameras, the stage 17 winner revealed that a late attack had always been in his thoughts.
Del Toro: “I want to imagine [my Giro] like this. So far, it has been really good. I think this is my third or fourth podium this Giro. It is incredible.
“Everybody wants this and today I realised I will never give up, and I will always stay one step in front, and I will always try it. I have nothing to lose and today was not easier than yesterday, but for sure I have a better mentality.
“I predicted with the team that something like this would happen [Richard Carapaz’s attack on the Mortirolo], and of course, you don’t want to let go of all the GC riders. I went to them, I take it easy, I put a little bit of pressure on the other ones after the descent and then I just tried to relax and recover, because obviously that was a hard stage.
“We made this plan with the team and the team gave me all the confidence to try full gas. To attack on the last climb was the plan.”
Earlier in the stage, Del Toro’s rivals could be forgiven for looking to pile on the pressure. On stage 16, the Mexican had shed time to both Carapaz and Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) in the final summit finish of the race, promising another all-important showdown on Wednesday afternoon.
In turn, both Visma-Lease a Bike and EF Education-EasyPost sent satellite riders up the road in the day’s breakaway, hoping to put the cat amongst the pigeons when it came to the fight for the Maglia Rosa. Making sure to protect his teammate, UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s Brandon McNulty responded in kind by positioning himself as part of a 38-man break. The American was among the strongest riders out front and retained his place as the group began to splinter on the first categorised climb.
At the top of the Passo del Tonale, the break had been allowed a three-minute advantage by the Polti VisitMalta-led peloton, with the fearsome Passo del Mortirolo (12.7km at 7.6%) next to come.
In the upper reaches of the Mortirolo, Del Toro had Igor Arrieta, Adam Yates and Rafał Majka by his side, but Carapaz was not content with letting this opportunity pass. The 2019 Giro d’Italia champion took his moment with 1.5km to ride, attacking from the peloton and going over the summit some 10 seconds ahead of Del Toro. To his credit, the Mexican had ridden within himself and stuck to the back wheel of Yates, recognising that plenty of road was left between here and the finish.
On the descent of the Mortirolo, both Adam Yates and Majka returned to Del Toro’s side, and with Carapaz seeking help from his teammate Georg Steinhauser, McNulty dropped back from the breakaway. With McNulty back in the fold and both Adam Yates and Majka performing admirably, the group of Del Toro and Simon Yates were able to mop up that of Carapaz as the final categorised climb reared its head.
On the Motte (3.2km at 8%), Del Toro was a figure rejuvenated, attacking near the summit with ferocious abandon. Only Carapaz could stay on the wheel of the race leader and soon enough, the pair had caught the final remnant of the day’s break, Romain Bardet. Through the final kilometres, the trio were able to hold off the chasing pack, that is, until Del Toro decided it was time to take his leave.
On the outskirts of Bormio, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man prised a gap from his companions and made a bid to reach the finish line alone. It was a perfectly-timed move from Del Toro, who arrived at the finish alone and extended his lead in the Maglia Rosa. For the Mexican, it was a moment to remember, as he struck back and showed himself well up to the fight for this year’s Giro d’Italia come Rome.
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Here's the Giro report from fourth-place Simon Yates Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Simon Yates made it through stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia in solid fashion. The British rider lost a few seconds in the finale to stage winner Isaac Del Toro and Richard Carapaz, but once again left a strong impression. Yates did drop from second to third in the overall standings.
Simon Yates finishes fourth. Sirotti photo
Team Visma | Lease a Bike started the day with a clear strategy for what proved to be another tough mountain stage in this year’s Giro. Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk, Bart Lemmen, and Dylan van Baarle all joined a large breakaway group of over thirty riders.
Van Baarle took on a major workload at the front, helping to increase the breakaway’s lead over the peloton. This allowed Kelderman, Kruijswijk, and Lemmen to save energy for the finale and support their leader Yates when it mattered most.
On the Mortirolo—the key climb of the day—Yates briefly had to let go when Carapaz attacked just before the summit, but the 32-year-old Brit quickly regrouped. On the descent, he benefited from the efforts of teammates Kruijswijk and Lemmen, who helped bridge the gap back to the Carapaz group. In the end, Yates couldn’t respond to a decisive attack from Del Toro and Carapaz on the final climb. He crossed the line in fourth place, losing a few seconds but ultimately minimizing the damage.
“My own feeling wasn’t great today”, said Kelderman. “I tried to be there for Simon—that was the whole point of getting into the breakaway. We ended up getting further than expected. The GC guys came flying past. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much more today, but the plan was there. We prepared well as a team, and I think Simon had another strong day, even if he did lose a few seconds at the end.”
Sports director Marc Reef looked back on the seventeenth stage: “The goal was to defend Simon’s GC position. If an opportunity came up, we were also ready to try and gain some time on the competition. As a team, we had things well organized—we had four guys in the early break. Carapaz launched his move on the Mortirolo. Simon let him go initially but was able to respond shortly after. In the valley, Bart and Steven were there to support Simon, which helped close the gap to Carapaz.”
“Simon just couldn’t quite follow the punchy attack from Carapaz and Del Toro on the final climb”, Reef continued. “He did manage to ride away from the group of chasers, though. It wasn’t exactly a finale that suited him, so we’re satisfied to have kept the losses small. As a team, we made very few mistakes today. There’s still plenty to come on Friday and Saturday in terms of the GC. Hopefully, we’ll be able to show our strength again then.”
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Here's the report from twelfth-place Egan Bernal's Team INEOS Grenadiers:
Egan Bernal finished 12th in the chasing bunch after a tough 155km in the mountains, retaining sixth on the GC with four stages remaining.
Breaks littered the early part of the race, with Thymen Arensman and Kim Heiduk both making breaks in the opening of the stage, before being reeled back in.
As the riders hit the Passo del Mortirolo, Jonathan Castroviejo and Lucas Hamilton worked on the front of the peloton for Bernal. As the pace ramped up, riders were all over the climb, with an earlier break three minutes up the road.
Bernal continued to chase with the maglia rosa Isaac Del Toro (UAE Emirates - XRG) and Simon Yates (Team Visma Lease A Bike), before being distanced near the top of the climb. The Colombian continued to show his determination and caught back on during the descent, joining the main chasing group and picking up other breaks to form the front of the peloton.
The day's early break 90 km into the stage.
Heading up Le Motte, a stinging attack from Romain Bardet (Team Picnic PostNL) saw Bernal unable to hold onto the group. As Bardet went clear, and was eventually caught by stage winner Del Toro and Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost), Bernal finished a minute and 10 seconds back in 12th place.
Egan Bernal:
"We tried our luck once again, but our rivals are quite strong. The most important thing is there is a lot of Giro left. We all want to win, and feel competitive. In any case, I like this job and I’m being able to enjoy riding my bike and do my best effort every day. That’s what I did today, and what I want to do moving forward.
"I am glad for Isaac del Toro. I think he is a good chap and he deserves the win today."
Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this Giro report:
The Giro d’Italia continued with another stage in the mountains, which promised more fireworks between the GC contenders. On the menu: Passo Tonale and Mortirolo, the latter making its 17th presence at the race, this time from a different side, where the gradients were not so demanding. A breakaway of 38 riders started this legendary climb – one of cycling’s most difficult ascents – with a gap of three minutes on the peloton, among those in the lead being also Soudal Quick-Step’s Mattia Cattaneo.
Fourth on the second individual time trial of the race, the Italian produced an astonishing ride after being dropped before the top of the Mortirolo, flying on the descent to return at the front, where he continued to be the “engine” of the group, which numbered just eight men now. Despite their gap rapidly coming down on the false flat to La Motte – the last difficulty of the day – the escapees continued to believe in their chances, and Cattaneo took some long pulls that further reduced the group.
Mattia Cattaneo (wearing a beard) racing next to Isaac del Toro in stage twleve. Sirotti photo
Their adventure at the front of the race came to an end before the top of the climb, just ten kilometers from the finish, and the victory was an affair between three riders, Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) emerging victorious after an acceleration in the last kilometer. Mattia was our first rider home, while James Knox gained another place on the overall standings following this second mountain stage of the week.
“My goal was to be in the breakaway today, and once there, I did my best until the finish. I even tried to make a selection, as I knew the downhill off Mortirolo, and believed in our chances of going all the way to the line, but in the end, it turned out to be a GC stage and we were reeled in. There are still four stages left and we are motivated to give our best until the end of the race”, Mattia said after his strong day in the break.
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And here's the stage 17 report from Kevin Geniets' Team Groupama-FDJ:
Some more mountains, and some more fighting spirit for the Groupama-FDJ cycling team. On Wednesday, in stage 17 of the Giro, which included the famous Passo del Mortirolo, it was Kevin Geniets who managed to make his way to the front of the race. Battling throughout the day, the Luxembourger ultimately took twentieth place, around 2’30 behind the winner and pink jersey, Isaac del Toro. This is his third top-20 finish since the start of the Corsa Rosa.
The day’s menu on the Giro d’Italia, from San Michele all’Adige to Bormio, looked slightly easier than the day before. Just slightly, because this seventeenth stage still featured nearly 4,000 metres of elevation gain, with two major climbs, the Passo del Tonale and the Passo del Mortirolo, followed by the last thirty kilometers, more or less uphill. The start of the race also took place on a slightly ascending profile, where the battle for the breakaway took place for around forty kilometres before a small peloton went clear. Always up there since the start, Groupama-FDJ was able to place Kevin Geniets in the front.
Kevin Geniets racing in the 2024 Tour de France's ninth stage. Sirotti photo
“Today, it was really in the head,” he said. “I followed several good moves, they all got neutralized, but I really didn’t want to give up as I wanted to be in the right one.” “We want to keep this aggressive mindset and this will for anticipation,” added Thierry Bricaud. “We were often well represented, the others also followed some moves, but it was Kevin who entered the right group. We knew the stage would suit him, and he was motivated for
The rider from Groupama-FDJ and his breakaway companions were unable to enjoy a very large lead, however, as the peloton maintained a gap of around three minutes. On the Passo del Tonale, the break was reduced to around twenty men, and Kevin Geniets was still there. However, when the top climbers accelerated on the Passo del Mortirolo (12.7 km at 7.6%), he had to let them go.
“It went extremely fast all day, and on the Mortirolo, I took my own pace so as not to blow up,” he explained. “This allowed me to stay with the favourites group after the downhill.” First caught by Richard Carapaz, the Luxembourger then found himself in the thin pink jersey peloton and held on until the final climb of the day at Le Motte (3 km at 8% gradient), located nine kilometres from the finish. The GC contenders gave their last shot, the last men standing from the breakaway were caught, and Isaac del Toro claimed victory in Bormio.
As for Kevin Geniets, he fought hard to the end to secure a decent twentieth place at the finish. “I did the best I could today,” he said. “It’s in line with what we’ve been doing for several days. We’re giving our 100% and making the most of our possibilities.” “The result is what is, but what we’ll remember most is the group’s spirit,” Thierry emphasized. “Today it was Kevin who benefited from it, but they are on the attack every day, we saw it again today. There might be a good opportunity tomorrow. The sprinters hope to bring a bunch finish, but there are quite a few difficulties to overcome, there will be domestiques missing, and many riders in the peloton want the breakaway to go all the way as it is one of the only opportunities to win a stage when you are not a pure climber. There will be a big fight, that’s for sure.”
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