Yates wins Giro d'Italia for second Grand Tour title
SIMON YATES of Visma-Lease a Bike won the 2025 Giro d'Italia on Sunday to claim his second Grand Tour victory, having effectively sealed the title a day earlier when he snatched the pink jersey from Isaac Del Toro.
Yates and other riders received blessings from Pope Leo at the Vatican before the Briton cruised to the finish in Rome on the final stage, which was won by teammate Olav Kooij in a sprint finish.
Yates, riding in all pink on a pink bike, also became the first rider since Alberto Contador in 2015 to win the Giro without claiming victory on any of the stages. His victory added to his 2018 Vuelta a Espana title.
'Honestly, it's still sinking in. What a huge moment in my career... I couldn't be prouder of the whole team over three weeks,' said Yates, the Giro's 12th different winner in as many editions.
'It's been good that we had the possibility to win the last stage with Olav. So we kept focused till the end. It's a defining moment of my career, there's no doubt about that. It's a sweet success.'
Having raced for more than 82 hours, Yates eventually finished three minutes and 56 seconds ahead of Del Toro while Richard Carapaz was third, a further 47 seconds behind.
Yates, 32, famously lost the title in 2018 on the Colle delle Finestre climb but this year he closed that painful chapter on the same slopes by taking the pink jersey with Saturday's stunning attack in the mountains.
After a 3,300-km journey through Italy, Albania and Slovenia, the final stage was a 143-km ride starting and finishing in Rome, including eight laps of a 9.5 km long circuit.
Pope's blessings
The riders also had time to meet Pope Leo, who was gifted a pink jersey before they left Vatican City and rode into Rome.
'I hope that, just as you have learned to take care of your bodies, you will also take care of your spirits,' the pope told the riders.
With the final stage underway, a relaxed Yates was all smiles as he cycled next to his twin brother Adam, putting his arm around the UAE Team Emirates rider.
As the riders cycled past Rome's landmarks like the Colosseum, a six-man breakaway went 24 seconds ahead of the pink jersey group with less than 50 km to go.
But with one lap left, only Josef Cerny and Enzo Paleni were left in the lead. Cerny then dropped Paleni to attempt a solo ride to the finish but he was quickly reeled in with six kilometres left.
Visma-Lease a Bike wanted the perfect finish and they executed it to perfection when Wout Van Aert led the sprint out on the final kilometre before Kooij surged ahead to take the victory, his second after winning stage 12.
'We couldn't wish for a better final weekend. Yesterday was really amazing for the team and today I just had to give everything that was left in the legs,' Kooij said after his victory sealed a third stage win for the team this year.
Kooij finished ahead of Kaden Groves and Matteo Moschetti as Visma-Lease a Bike became the first team in 26 years to win both the general classification and the final stage.
'When the ketchup bottle is almost empty... keep shaking, shaking, shaking,' Van Aert said. 'Then at some point everything comes out at once, that's what happened.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Tennis-Boulter hat-trick bid ends in Nottingham
NOTTINGHAM (Reuters) -Katie Boulter's bid for a hat-trick of Nottingham titles came to an end as the Briton was beaten 6-3 3-6 6-4 by American McCartney Kessler at the WTA 250 event on Friday. Eighth seed Boulter secured a service break early in the deciding set but Kessler stormed back to reach the semi-finals. Boulter became Britain's number one when winning the Nottingham title in 2023 and held it until being knocked off top spot by Emma Raducanu this week. Kessler only recorded her first main draw Tour-level win on grass last week at Queen's but is now eyeing a title on the surface. She will face either Slovak Rebecca Sramkova or Czech Linda Noskova in the semi-final. Saturday's other semi-final will feature Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska and Poland's Magda Linette. Yastremska beat Canada's fifth seed Leylah Fernandez 6-3 7-6(6), while Linette beat Clara Tauson 6-2 7-5 to reach a career-first semi-final on grass. (Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Tennis-Draper downs Popyrin to reach Queen's quarter-finals, Mensik loses his cool
Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 18, 2025 Britain's Jack Draper celebrates after winning his round of 16 match against Australia's Alexei Popyrin Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra LONDON (Reuters) -British second seed Jack Draper defeated Alexei Popyrin 3-6 6-2 7-6(5) to reach the quarter-finals of the Queen's Club Championships on Wednesday, while Czech eighth seed Jakub Mensik lost his temper during defeat to Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut. Draper won their only previous meeting when he beat Popyrin in straight sets earlier this year on his way to reaching the Qatar Open final, but faced a much tougher battle this time and needed the backing of the home crowd to pull him through. "There's days where I need that extra support, today was one of them," Draper said. "Tough match and credit to Alexei, it was a bit up and down but you guys helped me through that so thank you." Draper found himself trailing when the Australian broke to lead 5-4 and served out to win the opening set but the 23-year-old Briton was unfazed and won four consecutive games to take the second set. In the decider Draper held two match points with Popyrin serving, but the Australian rallied to win four unanswered points to make it 5-5. In the tiebreak, Popyrin broke first and Draper responded. The Briton made the decisive break to lead 6-5 and smashed his 10th ace of the match to earn a hard-fought victory. He will face either British wildcard Dan Evans or American Brandon Nakashima. "My family and friends are here and I love being at home and playing in front of them so it's an emotional moment for me honestly," Draper added. Mensik crashed out after his 3-6 6-3 7-5 loss to Bautista Agut, receiving a code violation warning for unsportsmanlike conduct at one stage. Mensik won the Miami Open in March, beating Novak Djokovic in the final having defeated Bautista Agut in the first round, but at Queen's the teenager cut a frustrated figure as the 37-year-old Spaniard fought back after going a set down. The Czech 19-year-old was 3-1 down in the second set and after failing to convert a break point he smashed his racket on the ground which then slipped from his hands and flew into the stands, where luckily there were plenty of empty seats. The experienced Bautista Agut awaits the winner of the second round tie between Danish fourth seed Holger Rune and American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald. (Reporting by Trevor StynesEditing by Toby Davis)
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- New Straits Times
Winner Russell driving better than ever but title a long shot
MONTREAL: George Russell said he was driving better than ever and ready to fight for a Formula One championship with Mercedes after taking the team's first win of the season in Canada, but this year still looks a long shot. The Briton, out of contract at the end of 2025 but confident of staying, recognised any title chance this season would probably require the McLaren drivers to make mistakes and drop points. McLaren's Lando Norris and championship-leading teammate Oscar Piastri collided in Montreal, with the former retiring from the race while the Australian moved 22 points clear after 10 of 24 rounds. Russell is fourth overall but still a mighty 62 points behind Piastri, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen is third. "I don't really know how Max and I are so close to those two (McLaren drivers) because they clearly have the most dominant car," said Russell. "I think the two of us have been very consistent and getting the maximum result from our packages week in, week out. But I can't imagine them to continue throwing away points in the manner they're doing. "Of course, we hope that continues to be the case, but I don't foresee us getting in the championship fight through pure pace as Lando did last year. We'll only be there if results like today continue or things like today continue to happen." Russell was sure Sunday's result would help the negotiations for a new deal, although he had no concerns despite continuing chatter about a possible move for four-time champion Verstappen. "I know I'm going to be on the grid next year. I feel that I'm driving better than ever. I still feel I've got more in the tank," said the Briton. "I feel ready to fight for a world championship." Russell said he was not talking with anyone other than Mercedes, there was no rush and he planned to stay. "There haven't been any hard feelings with any of the talks that have been going around, especially around Max," he added. "If every driver had no contract for next year, Max would be number one for every single team. And that's understandable. But ultimately, there are two seats for every race team. "I know if I continue to perform as I'm doing, my position would not be under threat whatsoever. So, I feel in a good place."
