"It was difficult for me to distance Del Toro" - Simon Yates praises his young opponent

Simon Yates was one of the winners of the epic Giro d'Italia stage 16. Although he lost time to Richard Carapaz and Derek Gee, the 32-year-old Brit can almost touch the pink jersey - that's how close he is to the provisional leader Isaac del Toro after today.

Once the group of favourites reached the final ascent San Valentino, the fireworks opened with Yates in the center of action, as he expected he says: "Honestly, I knew there were going to be attacks from everywhere," Yates shared after the stage.

"I tried too, but it was difficult for me to distance Del Toro, I did what I could." The Visma | Lease a Bike rider was hoping to wear pink after today, but the Mexican leader of standings wouldn't let go as easily.

Ultimately, another Spanish-speaking rider stole the spotlight with a brutal attack followed by a phenomenal climbing performance. Richard Carapaz is suddenly only five seconds short of Yates. "When Carapaz attacked, I was mainly trying to get rid of the pink jersey. He managed to open up a good gap, but luckily, I feel pretty good. It wasn't an easy stage, with the rain at the beginning. We'll see how it goes in the next few days," he concluded.