DISCUSSION Giro d'Italia Stage 20 | Simon Yates winning a historic Giro d'Italia; Del Toro's questionable tactics; Carapaz's courage and more...

The penultimate stage of the Giro d’Italia was one of the queen stages, featuring the hardest climb of the whole edition: The Colle delle Finestre. An eternal ascent of more than 18km and an average of 9.1% that was expected to be the final judge of the race, and that is exactly what happened.

A huge breakaway with more than 30 riders, as usual in all the past stages, went clear and got a lead of over 10 minutes on the peloton. Behind, pace was not too high until the start of Finestre. There, EF launched Carapaz soon after commencing the climb.

Only Isaac Del Toro and Simon Yates followed his wheel, and it was the British who found the right moment to attack and go solo. Carapaz tried to close the gap and demanded Del Toro to collaborate in the chase, but the Mexican refused to cooperate.

The gap ballooned to almost 2 minutes at the summit of Finestre. Del Toro briefly pulled after the descent, but Yates wasn’t getting any closer and he resorted to Carapaz for cooperation, which was refused.

Surrender was evident, as none of them worked and just waited for the peloton to catch them. In the meantime, Yates had joined Wout van Aert (who was in the early break of the day), finishing the day with over 5 minutes on the rest of the GC contenders and securing the Giro in spectacular fashion.

Once this historic stage finished, we asked some of our writers to share their thoughts and main takeaways about what happened today.

Well, this is one stage for the ages! It is iconic that Simon Yates pulls out the performance of his career on the same roads where he had the biggest loss of his career.

It is also poetic that Richard Carapaz lost this Giro with the man-marking between him and Isaac Del Toro when he won it the same way in 2019 with Nibali and Roglic marking each other. Also quite a team victory for Visma aswell, who perfectly placed Wout van Aert on the right spot to help extend Yates' lead.

It is hard to argue when the win is this dominant. Simon Yates was discreet during the whole Giro, fired one bullet and it was the winning shot. If I had to guess, I'd say he's been in Visma for years, this has Visma brand all over it and gives us Vingegaard vibes.

Brave performance by Isaac del Toro as well. He didn't win the Giro this year, but he's showing that it will happen sooner or later, he's definitely a future Grand Tour winner.

The cycling I love is back! Real ciclismo as some say... This ends up being a review of the 2025 race, the best Grand Tour in years, headlined by new faces and the stars of the 2018 and 2019 races - something I thought I'd never see again.

UAE (and EF too, honestly) did a BIG mistake not to have riders in the breakaway, in a finale where satellite riders could play a major role. They did, Visma did it perfectly, and with Wout Van Aert, they sealed the GC win that Simon Yates worked hard in the Colle delle Finestre to achieve.

We saw an up-and down Roglic; and up-and-down Ayuso, with both main favourites ultimately abandoning the race. Egan Bernal and Richard Carapaz didn't look like winning candidates in the first half of the race but their attacks made it a more exciting edition, with plenty mountain stages lit up because of them.

Then Isaac del Toro, who must be disappointed today, but has tons of reasons to be proud over a stunning second place and the proof he is a Grand Tour victory candidate from today onwards.

UAE will be kicking themselves for bringing Simon Yates back to the Del Toro group when Bernal tried to raid the race on stage 15. They will be kicking themselves for not having someone in the breakaway today. But ultimately, I think Visma was unbeatable today.

EF and Carapaz's attack on the bottom of Finestre was crazy, almost too crazy, but this is 1 of the very few climbs and scenarios in cycling where it could've worked. Del Toro's issue were supposedly the long climbs, and this incredibly steep ascent from the bottom meant there would be no rest.

It is a strategy that no-one in cycling ever uses, almost outright insane but so damn exciting... I think they played their cards well, only Del Toro was at his very best level.

Simon Yates winning the Giro on the Finestre... You couldn't write a better redemption story with a rider of the current peloton, and I say that honestly. 2018's crack on this climb continues to resonate well until this day; and what he did today on the very same road is the stuff you'll remember for decades to come.

Yates' victory is an unexpected one, looking back he is also one of the very few riders who did not have crashes, illnesses or unnecessary time losses. It's the victory of a rider who thrives in the long climbs but also had days where he was clearly far from the best and also struggled. It's a breath of fresh air in a generation where it seems like all Grand Tour winners are virtually unbeatable.

This Giro delivered action that is worthy of a Grand Tour, the riders took advantage of the route which was designed for long-range attacks, and we've seen plenty. There was a heavy tactical game for days and days, and the wildcard of Del Toro, whose continuous resistance played a crucial role in keeping the suspense until the very last day.

I don't expect to have a Tour or Vuelta as exciting as this, but I'm fully satisfied from these three weeks of racing.

First, I want to start by shedding some light on the big winners of the day. Especially Chris Harper, who I don't know much about but he just won one of the most prestigious stages of this Giro d'Italia 2025.

Next, congratulations to Simon Yates, who used his experience and courage to win his second Grand Tour (after La Vuelta in 2018) 7 years later. Great work also by Visma, which managed the course to perfection and sent Wout van Aert ahead, again fundamental.

Last but not least, Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz. If we had been told before the race that they were going to finish second and third respectively in the overall classification, we would have thought of a dream Giro for the Mexican and a great performance of the Ecuadorian.

However, taking into account everything that has happened and the circumstances, we can speak of failure on both sides. EF had no team and UAE has been missing when Del Toro needed it most. Not to mention the moment they let Simon Yates go.

Isaac del Toro has lost this Giro d’Italia. This does not mean his Giro has been a disappointment, quite the opposite. As a 21-year old Grand Tour debutant, he came as a domestique for Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates and with no GC expectations whatsoever, so finishing in second is a huge success.

The problem is not losing the Maglia Rosa the last day in an exhausting stage, the problem is HOW he lost it. His plan was very simple and straightforward: to mark Carapaz and follow him to the end of the world. Nothing else mattered for Del Toro today, Carapaz was the only man he had to follow.

Del Toro never tried to answer to any of Yates’ attacks, instead, he waited for Carapaz to close the gap. He never tried to pull when Yates went clear during Finestre, he just left all the responsibility to Carapaz, since his second place in the GC was in danger.

I can understand this strategy if the gap with Yates is 30 seconds or less. When you see that Yates is flying, gaining more and more time, you have to do something. You cannot just pass the buck to Carapaz and stuck to his wheel when Yates is so strong and is getting further and further away from you.

Once the gap was dangerously approaching 1 minute, Del Toro as the Maglia Rosa HAD to take the responsibility and help Carapaz with the chase. Even if his main rival was the Ecuadorian before the start of the stage, race situation had changed and Simon Yates had become the biggest threat, especially since he had Wout van Aert awaiting in the descent.

Thus, it blows my mind how Del Toro NEVER assumed responsibility and started pulling. Simon Yates single-handedly created a gap of 2 minutes in Finestre and Del Toro never appeared to be bothered by that. He clearly had good legs, or at least not bad, as he always followed Carapaz when he launched his thermonuclear attacks.

It wasn’t a problem of fatigue, but a problem of awful tactics, a problem of pigheadedness and a problem of the team. I cannot believe that the team director or whoever was in the team’s car didn’t tell him that he had to pull at some point or he would lose the Giro.

It doesn’t matter whether Del Toro feared that pulling too hard with Carapaz on his wheel would benefit the Ecuadorian in the final climb, because Simon Yates was in front and posed a bigger threat.

He should have given his all to close the gap with Yates, but instead right after the descent he asked Carapaz to help him in the chase, and since he refused (totally understandable after receiving zero help in Finestre), Del Toro just…gave up? No pride to fight for the race until the last breath, no intention to honor the Maglia Rosa.

Instead, he just waited for his domestiques, who were coming in a group more than 2 minutes behind. Wind barely touched his face today. And again, it was not a problem of legs, as he never lost Carapaz’s wheel.

Del Toro gave the impression that he was not riding for him, but rather against Carapaz. He made sure the whole day that Carapaz was not going anywhere without him, forgetting about everyone else. It wouldn't surprise me if they were having dinner together tonight...

Carapaz's tactics were also questionable, his team went all in as soon as Finestre started. He barely used his domestiques, a risky decision but a very brave one. Once Yates was ahead, he took the responsibility to chase for most of the climb.

I think he was too generous there and should have stopped pulling much earlier than when he did, but his courage is truly remarkable. We cannot said that he didn't try everything to win this Giro.

Of course Simon Yates deserves a long-standing ovation, it was poetic justice that he won the Giro in the same climb where he lost it in 2018. He never got nervous when Carapaz attacked at the beginning, as he knows he is not as explosive. He kept riding, came back and launched a decisive attack.

Visma’s tactics were sublime today, I am glad they fixed the communication issues from yesterday. Wout van Aert was exactly the satellite rider Yates needed after Finestre, and he pulled a hell of a climb to make sure he was ahead of Yates in the descent. Perfectly executed plan, the complete opposite of UAE or EF, which didn’t even slip one rider in the 30+ men break.

That being said, the ending was truly historic and one to remember for many years, pure cycling. The smartest rider won, as Carapaz said. I also don't expect the Tour or La Vuelta to come close to this Giro, but let's cross our fingers!

An incredible day for Simon Yates. 7 years after the biggest defeat of his career, he swung back and took revenge on the Finestre climb.

He may not have been the strongest at any point of this Giro, but he was by far the bravest. Add to that a perfect tactical execution by Visma with Wout up the road, and that's all it took to upset the whole cycling world.

Tonight, I might rewatch the finale one or three times with a tear in my eye. I'm just happy for Yates who can now finally close this chapter of his life.