"It wasn’t exactly a finale that suited him" - Simon Yates loses 2nd overall in battle to limit losses on stage 17 of 2025 Giro d'Italia

Having started the day just 26 seconds away from Maglia Rosa Isaac del Toro in the general classification, all eyes were on Simon Yates on stage 17 at the 2025 Giro d'Italia. Sadly for the Brit however, he wasn't able to make any gains in the GC, and in fact, ended the day in 3rd overall having lost time to both Del Toro and Richard Carapaz.

“The goal was to defend Simon’s GC position. If an opportunity came up, we were also ready to try and gain some time on the competition," reflects Team Visma | Lease a Bike's sports director Marc Reef in a post-stage press release posted to the team's official website. "As a team, we had things well organised — we had four guys in the early break. Carapaz launched his move on the Mortirolo. Simon let him go initially, but was able to respond shortly after. In the valley, Bart Lemmen and Steven Kruijswijk were there to support Simon, which helped close the gap to Carapaz.”

In the finale though, when Del Toro and Carapaz ignited the attacking once more, Yates was unable to respond, eventually finishing the stage 15 seconds off the Mexican race leader. “Simon just couldn’t quite follow the punchy attack from Carapaz and Del Toro on the final climb,” Reef continued. “He did manage to ride away from the group of chasers, though. It wasn’t exactly a finale that suited him, so we’re satisfied to have kept the losses small. As a team, we made very few mistakes today. There’s still plenty to come on Friday and Saturday in terms of the GC. Hopefully, we’ll be able to show our strength again then.”

One of those satellite riders sent into the break for Visma on stage 17 was Wilco Kelderman. Sadly for the Dutchman however, he couldn't make much of an impact when Yates and co caught up with him. “My own feeling wasn’t great today,” said Kelderman. “I tried to be there for Simon — that was the whole point of getting into the breakaway. We ended up getting further than expected. The GC guys came flying past. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much more today, but the plan was there. We prepared well as a team, and I think Simon had another strong day, even if he did lose a few seconds at the end.”