Isaac del Toro slightly increased his overall lead in the Giro d’Italia after a tense stage 19, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown on Saturday’s penultimate stage. France’s Nicolas Prodhomme took the spotlight with a stunning solo victory—his first in a Grand Tour.
The 21-year-old Mexican rider finished second on the stage, narrowly edging out Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz in a sprint for the line to gain two bonus seconds. Del Toro now leads Carapaz by 43 seconds in the general classification. Britain’s Simon Yates, who faded late, remains in third but is now 1 minute and 21 seconds behind the leader.
The race remains finely poised heading into Saturday’s decisive stage 20, which finishes atop the brutal 20km ascent of the Colle delle Finestre. With Sunday’s finale in Rome expected to be a ceremonial ride, tradition suggests the pink jersey will not be contested on the final day.
Prodhomme Powers to Breakaway Win
Prodhomme launched a daring solo attack from the breakaway with 30km to go, cresting the penultimate climb alone and holding off the chasing group to win in Champoluc by 58 seconds.
His success came as the general classification contenders marked each other behind. Del Toro took six bonus seconds by finishing second, while Carapaz collected four in third place.
Yates Frustrated After Late Drop
Simon Yates was visibly upset after crossing the line 24 seconds behind Del Toro in seventh place.
“The plan was completely different from what we did today, so I’ll have to speak with the team,” he told Eurosport. “I won’t say more than that.”
However, his team director Marc Reef said the day played out “exactly as agreed” and that Carapaz and Del Toro were simply stronger.
Yates, 32, still harbours slim hopes of overhauling the leaders, though the Giro has been a story of near-misses for the Briton. After wearing the pink jersey for 13 days in 2018 before fading, a Covid-enforced withdrawal in 2020 and a comeback to third in 2021 added to his bittersweet history at the race.
Yates’ twin brother Adam dropped out of the top 10 overall to conserve energy and will support Del Toro in Saturday’s decisive mountain test.
Colle delle Finestre to Decide the Race
Carapaz, the 2019 Giro winner, made a move on the final climb of stage 19 but couldn’t shake Del Toro, who displayed tactical maturity beyond his years. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider is looking to become the youngest Giro champion since 1940.
Stage 19 Results:
- Nicolas Prodhomme (FRA/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) – 4h 50m 35s
- Isaac del Toro (MEX/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +58s
- Richard Carapaz (ECU/EF Education-EasyPost) same time
- Damiano Caruso (ITA/Bahrain Victorious) +1m 22s
5-10. McNulty, Bernal, Yates, Majka, Tiberi, Rubio – all same time
General Classification After Stage 19:
- Isaac del Toro (MEX/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 73h 47m 59s
- Richard Carapaz (ECU/EF Education-EasyPost) +43s
- Simon Yates (GB/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1m 21s
- Derek Gee (CAN/Israel-Premier Tech) +2m 27s
- Damiano Caruso (ITA/Bahrain Victorious) +3m 36s
6-10. Bernal, Pellizzari, Rubio, Storer, McNulty – all within 10 minutes
The 2024 Giro d’Italia is now set for a dramatic conclusion with everything still to play for in the high mountains.
