La Finestre Turns the Giro in Favour of Simon Yates

El col delle Finestre has delivered its verdict in the Giro. Although yesterday was the queen stage, today did not disappoint cycling fans and has shaken up the race. It has caused a turnaround in the final classification. The Briton from Visma, Simon Yates, is the new man in pink and, barring disaster tomorrow in Rome, will take home the infinite trophy of the race.

The English cyclist, who was third overall with a deficit of 1 minute and 21 seconds, attacked on the paved section of the col delle Finestre, 50 kilometres from the finish line. He easily distanced himself from his rivals. Behind him, Del Toro (UAE) and Carapaz (Education First), first and second, got into a squabble over who would do less work, which benefited him. Not even the sterratto was enough for them to try to neutralise the rival. Quite the opposite: the gap only continued to grow.

On the descent, the Briton linked up with his teammate Van Aert, who dropped back from the breakaway leading the stage and carried him effortlessly to the final ascent, Sestriere. He left him five kilometres from the finish, when he already had a 5-minute advantage over Del Toro and Carapaz, who had given up all hope. The day's victory went to Chris Harper of Jayco AlUla, but the true winner was Yates, who dons the pink jersey and will likely wear it on the final podium in the eternal city tomorrow, barring any last-minute surprises.

Finestre, Cima Coppi this year with its 2,178 metres of altitude, has once again been the judge of the Giro, as it was in 2018. And it has given Yates his revenge, who lost the race in 2018 on this very climb. Back then, Froome, with the race seemingly lost and 4 minutes behind, attacked 80 kilometres from the finish. The Englishman reacted late and poorly - ending up 39 minutes down - and left the victory in the hands of the South African from Sky.

Today's victory redeems him from that bitter defeat and demonstrates that in modern cycling, one must have legs, but also be a great strategist. At UAE, which came to Italy with two strong contenders for the race, the Mexican Del Toro and the Spaniard Ayuso, the faces have been of disappointment. Except for one, Simon's twin, the discreet Adam, who couldn't help but smile at his brother's feat.