"I had to wait a very long time for that" - Nicolas Prodhomme saves Decathlon's Giro d'Italia with stage 19 victory

Nicolas Prodhomme was the strongest from the breakaway, holding off GC contenders Isaac Del Toro and Richard Carapaz to take a sensational victory on Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia. It marked the first WorldTour-level win for the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider, and a result that even he didn’t believe was on the cards early in the day.

"We didn't get a lot of space from the peloton today. And I didn't feel very good at the start of the race, my legs were bad," Prodhomme admitted after his win. The Frenchman had joined a chaotic early breakaway and was later part of a trio alongside Carlos Verona and Antonio Tiberi that tried to prise open a gap on the Red Bull kilometre. But it was on the penultimate climb, the Col de Joux, that Prodhomme made his decisive move.

“That Prodhomme grew in the race became visible on the Col de Joux,” with the Frenchman accelerating clear of his breakaway companions just as the race began to split apart under GC pressure behind.

"On the last climb I took the gamble to attack. I often ride top-5 because I don't dare to take gambles. Today I did because I wanted to win," he said. And that gamble paid off. With the likes of Del Toro and Carapaz charging from behind, Prodhomme stayed calm and composed, pacing himself perfectly over the final kilometres into the finish.

“I don't ride for the general classification, but to win stages. And I had to wait a very long time for that. I took my first victory three weeks ago and now I win here at WorldTour level in the Giro d'Italia,” he reflected. “It’s a great day. This was a goal for the team to win a stage and now we’ve done it.”