“Love riders who race to win, not to settle for a placing” Powerhouse Van Aert hails Yates after dominant Giro move

Yates started the stage trailing race leader Del Toro by 1:21. And in the early kilometers of the brutally tough Finestre, it didn’t look like that would change. Yates was initially distanced by the first attack from Richard Carapaz, but he fought his way back and soon powered past both rivals.

With Del Toro and Carapaz locked in a staring match, Yates was able to open up a gap of around a minute. Near the summit, it stretched to two. Almost as if scripted, Van Aert was already up the road in the break. With a big time buffer, he crested the Finestre and then emptied the tank on the descent to drive Yates’ lead out even further. The gap to Del Toro ballooned to five minutes. Yates struck a massive blow in the GC and barring disaster, is now set to win the Giro in tomorrow’s final stage.

'It's insane,' responded a broken but accomplished Van Aert at Eurosport. 'This morning we definitely hadn't thought about this. It was such a brave effort from Simon to go from so far all-in. I love it when riders don't ride for a place of honor. I take my hat off to him," Van Aert adored his leader.

Unlike Del Toro and Carapaz, Visma | Lease a Bike had a man with Van Aert in the sizeable breakaway; it turned out to be a golden opportunity. 'Once I was in the breakaway and we had such a big lead, I knew I had a small chance of surviving the Finestre. I was valuable after that, but it's an effort of the whole team," Van Aert also did not forget the rest of the team.

Though Van Aert and Visma Lease a Bike could hardly have imagined such an outcome, they had certainly seen opportunities for Yates in this stage. “The Finestre was a climb we hadn’t faced yet in this Giro. It’s an hour-long, steep effort where it comes down to sustained power. That was our plan all along, to turn it into a long, hard effort.”

Reaching the top of the Finestre ahead of the GC contenders demanded everything from the versatile rider. “I can’t even describe how deep I had to go. Halfway up the climb, I started to believe I could make it. From that point on, my focus was only on the summit. That was the hardest part of the day.”

“I had hoped for it, but I didn’t expect it,” Visma Lease a Bike sports director Marc Reef told Eurosport about Yates’ dominant ride. “We had drawn up a solid plan, with Wout in the breakaway. We wanted to have someone up the road. Of course, we had a bit of luck that the gap grew so big, which created the opportunity for Wout to crest the Finestre. And if Simon had the legs, Wout could be a huge asset.”

That Yates delivered on the Finestre of all climbs makes the story even more remarkable. Back in 2018, also in the Giro, he suffered one of the worst moments of his career on this very ascent, cracking completely and losing what had looked like a certain overall win. “Simon had been talking about this stage since this past winter,” Reef revealed. “Everyone remembers what happened in the 2018 Giro. He blew up on the Finestre, and today he really wanted to prove himself here.”

With his bold ride, Yates made it clear that only victory would do. “That’s exactly what he went for,” Reef said. “Carapaz and Del Toro spent too much time watching each other, which gave him the gap he was hoping for. They were focused on each other, but of course, you still need the legs to make the difference.”

Everything came together perfectly when Wout crested the Finestre and was able to tow Yates. The Brit’s lead on Del Toro kept growing by the minute. “Wout did an incredible job,” Reef praised. “Without him, it would have been much harder. He really made the difference heading into the base of Sestrière.”

From the team car, the Visma Lease a Bike staff urged Van Aert on to make it over the top of the Finestre. “We were in constant contact with him about the time gaps and his position on the climb, so we could time everything perfectly. About three kilometers from the summit, we realized he was going to make it. On the descent he could recover a bit, and then immediately went to work on the front for Simon.”

“I can’t sum it up in just a few words,” Reef said of Yates’ overall win. “It’s fantastic for the team. We managed the first weeks of the race really well. As a team, we did everything right to keep Simon in good position. And he was sharp and ready every time it mattered. On the punchier days, Carapaz and Del Toro had the edge, but today on the Finestre, Simon showed just how mentally strong he is. He made the difference. And for us as a team, winning a Grand Tour is fantastic. We’re going to enjoy this one a lot.”

One teammate who knows what it’s like to wear the maglia rosa is Steven Kruijswijk. He also spoke to Eurosport after the stage. “It’s incredible, the story we had all hoped for. That Simon takes the jersey on the Finestre, the very climb where he lost it in the past, is just fantastic. He’s been fighting all Giro long against two incredibly strong rivals. But he kept believing. He needed one super day, and today was his day.”

Kruijswijk himself came close to winning the Giro in 2016, before a dramatic crash on a descent in the final week shattered his pink dream. Does Yates’ triumph feel like redemption? “What happened to my Giro belongs to the past. That’s cycling. As we’ve seen again now, you can lose a Grand Tour on the final day, but you can win it too.”