"All the way to Rome" - Richard Carapaz will not give Isaac del Toro one day of rest after almost fully eliminating 2-minute gap

Richard Carapaz has given a strong blow on the table in the 16th stage of this Giro d'Italia 2025. He crossed the finish line in fourth place, but has taken significant time off his main rivals for the final overall classification. Thanks to the time he has cut, the Ecuadorian from EF Education-EasyPost is now on the provisional podium in third place, just 31 seconds behind the maglia rosa of Isaac del Toro.

"We knew it was a very key stage in the Giro, I've worked hard, I've shown it, everything it's cost me to come back here and be here once again," the 31-year-old commented after today's stage. Whilst Primoz Roglic abandoned, Juan Ayuso cracked, Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman crashed; Carapaz battled on and even founnd his very best legs despite also crashing on the day.

Winner in the 2019 edition, Carapaz shone again only in 2022, when he was second behind Jai Hindley: "In the end I think the last few years I hadn't had the health or luck to be here, just today I had a fall, but that was the motivation, getting up when I fell again and again, over and over again, I think we proved it, we want to try it all the way to Rome."

EF Education-EasyPost's difficult pace was what ultimately ended Juan Ayuso's ambitions to have a strong result in this race still on the Passo Santa Barbara, where Carapaz sat in the back part of the group - what turned out to be a bluff.

On the final climb to the Passo San Valentino, the 31-year old kept his powder dry and also kept his bluff. He launched only one attack, with 6 kilometers to go, but it was so powerful that for the firs time, Isaac del Toro did not even try to match him. This came after Simon Yates launched his first attack, and the damage that Carapaz dealt was immense.

At the finish line, he has conquered 42 seconds on the Briton and 1:36 minutes on Del Toro. This means he has virtually closed down the gaps on the two riders that were ahead of him in the provisional overall classification at the start of the final climb. With this, he is also fully within reach of the pink jersey, besides having confidence and form on his side with still three days left in the mountains.