“In my Grand Tour career, there's always a small problem, a crash or a puncture” – Simon Yates admits ‘perfect’ Giro d’Italia turnaround still unbelievable

Simon Yates has won a Grand Tour before, but none quite like this. Looking back on his 2025 Giro d’Italia triumph, the detail that still refuses to settle is not the attack on the Colle delle Finestre or the pink jersey in Rome, but the unfamiliar absence of disaster.

“In my Grand Tour career, there's always a small problem, there's always a niggle, there's always a crash or a puncture at the wrong time,” Yates recalls in conversation with TNT Sports. “And this year it was so smooth. Unbelievable.”

That sense of disbelief runs through every part of how Yates now explains the race. Speaking to TNT Sports, the Briton admitted that even on the morning of the Giro’s decisive stage, overall victory barely featured in his thinking. Despite starting Stage 20 third on general classification, belief was limited. “To win the race overall? Probably not. I had been losing a bit of time in the last week, seconds here and there.”

What he did have was a feeling that the moment demanded action. “I felt really good, in that whole last week I felt great, and I knew I wanted to try something. Even if it wasn't for the overall win, I wanted to try and show myself on that climb because of the history of it from 2018.”

That distinction matters. Yates did not attack the Finestre with a carefully calculated Giro winning plan. The climb carried unfinished business from seven years earlier, and the decision to go was rooted more in instinct than outcome.

As he rode clear, the race pivoted on events behind him. Race leader Isaac del Toro and former Giro winner Richard Carapaz became locked together, neither committing to a sustained chase.

Yates was acutely aware of how precarious his position remained. “I kept asking the radio if they were still together or not,” he explained. “If somebody had been able to make a separation, it would have become a time trial between all of us.”

Instead, hesitation defined the moment. “With them together, there's always that hesitation,” Yates said. “So I kept asking the car for updates – ‘I need to know if they are together’.”

In that standoff, the Giro began to tilt.

The repeated radio checks reveal the reality of the day. This was not serene dominance, but constant uncertainty. “The pieces really fell into place – the two guys behind me watching each other, playing the game,” Yates said. “It couldn't have happened in a better way.”

Cresting the Finestre with a growing advantage, Yates then linked up with teammate Wout van Aert, who dropped back from the break to help drive him across the valley towards Sestriere. The tactical momentum was now firmly in Yates’ favour, yet belief still lagged behind reality.

Asked when he finally allowed himself to think the Giro was his, the answer underlined just how deeply past experience shaped his thinking. “It sounds ridiculous because the gap was so big, but I truly never believed it until about 200m from the finish line.”

That disbelief cannot be separated from Yates’ broader Grand Tour story. For years, his races have been defined by small moments arriving at the worst possible time. This Giro was different, not because it was flawless in execution, but because it was uninterrupted.

“The whole race, and that day, it went perfectly. I couldn't have dreamed it,” Yates said. “And this year it was so smooth. Unbelievable.”

The victory marked his second Grand Tour title after the 2018 Vuelta a Espana, but its significance ran deeper than statistics. This was the rare experience of a three week race unfolding without the familiar sense that something was about to go wrong.

Looking ahead, Yates confirmed that plans for next season are still being finalised, adding that “we'll find out soon” whether a Giro title defence is part of his programme.

For now, the defining memory of his Giro is not the jersey or the podium, but the novelty of finishing a Grand Tour without waiting for disaster. One race where timing finally worked in his favour, and where belief arrived just in time.