Tuesday just an offday?! Del Toro wins, after attack by Carapaz, with insane acceleration seventeenth Giro stage

On Tuesday, it was Christian Scaroni who came out on top in the first brutal mountain stage of the final week, thanks in large part to teammate Lorenzo Fortunato. But what stuck with most cycling fans was the GC drama. Juan Ayuso saw his hopes for a strong overall finish evaporate after cracking early, while Primoz Roglic was forced to abandon the Giro altogether. The former winner from Slovenia pulled the plug after suffering his fourth crash of the race. Richard Carapaz and Simon Yates were among the few to gain ground, closing in on race leader Isaac Del Toro, who showed his first signs of weakness and saw his lead shrink to just thirty seconds.

And when you say brutal third week, you’re also talking about another punishing mountain stage on Wednesday. The organizers mapped out 155 kilometers between San Michele all’Adige and Bormio, including the infamous Mortirolo. With the Passo del Tonale already in their legs, the riders arrived at the final climb worn down, only to be met with more grinding ascents all the way to the line.

From the very start, the road dragged uphill in that nagging way that sets the tone early. The first seventy kilometers rose gradually, which meant the pace was fierce right out of the gate. Plenty of riders were eager to make the break, so it took a long time before a group was actually allowed to go clear. With the bunch still tightly packed approaching the intermediate sprint, Lidl-Trek took over to deliver Mads Pedersen. The Dane, already way ahead in the points competition, picked up the full haul in Cles to stretch his lead even further.

What followed was a chaotic opening phase, with a large group finally slipping off the front—until Del Toro jumped across on his own. The race was already on before the main climbs had even begun. His move didn’t lead to much, as the field came back together not long after, but one thing was clear: the pink jersey had just fired a warning shot.

The biggest victim of the blistering early pace was undoubtedly Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard was seen dangling off the back of the peloton and ended up getting dropped early on. After that, he was barely shown on screen, leaving everyone wondering exactly where he was out on the road. Meanwhile, a huge break of 38 riders had gone clear.

It was a strong move, featuring plenty of big names. Brandon McNulty was the best-placed GC rider in the group, sitting 7 minutes and 43 seconds behind pink jersey Del Toro. All four Dutch Visma riders made the move: Dylan van Baarle, Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk and Bart Lemmen. Also present were stage threats like Daniel Felipe Martínez, Romain Bardet, Chris Harper, Georg Steinhauser and KOM leader Fortunato. While the break surged ahead, two Australians called it a day as stage winner Luke Plapp and Jay Vine both abandoned the race.

By the time the race hit the slopes of the Mortirolo, the break had already been whittled down to 25 riders, partly thanks to the earlier climb of the Passo del Tonale. Van Baarle was one of those who had already been dropped. With a gap of four minutes on the peloton, the still sizable lead group began the brutal ascent. There were high expectations for fireworks on the Mortirolo, with Simon Yates backed by four teammates and Egan Bernal saying before the stage that he just wanted to enjoy himself out there.

But on the first steep ramps, Thymen Arensman couldn’t hold the pace. The Dutch rider from INEOS Grenadiers was the first to drop. Not long after, Antonio Tiberi from Bahrain Victorious also had to let go, another GC hopeful falling victim to the gradients. As we’ve seen multiple times this Giro, it was again the INEOS riders setting the pace in the bunch, leaving everyone waiting for Bernal to make his move.

Martínez ignited the first real explosion at the front, with Harper quickly joining him. Not long after, Steinhauser helped bring the lead group back together, while UAE took control again in the GC group. The much-anticipated attack from Bernal on the Mortirolo didn’t come, at least not yet. Instead, it was the young Giulio Pellizzari who lit the fuse. The Italian launched an acceleration that briefly put Yates, Del Toro and even Bernal on the back foot. That’s when Carapaz and EF Education-EasyPost took over, and the Ecuadorian unleashed a scorching attack.

The same rider who had seized all the momentum on Tuesday went off the front again on the steep slopes of the Mortirolo. Yates, followed shortly after by Del Toro, managed to bridge across to Pellizzari, Derek Gee, Einer Rubio, Damiano Caruso and Max Poole. They weren’t far behind Carapaz either, as the small group with the pink jersey reached the summit just twelve seconds after the Ecuadorian.

Up front, it was the young Portuguese rider Afonso Eulálio who crested the Mortirolo first. On the descent, he was joined by Romain Bardet and Mattia Cattaneo. Not long after, Lorenzo Fortunato and Florian Stork also bridged across, forming a five-man lead group, while several riders continued to chase behind. Carapaz reached the bottom of the descent with about a twenty-second gap over his GC rivals, though Rubio and Pellizzari managed to close the distance to the Ecuadorian.

With 27 kilometers to go, the favorites’ group came back together, giving the breakaway renewed hope. At the front, more riders joined up too, including Martínez, Kelderman and Mathias Vacek, who all made it back into the lead group. Tom Pidcock had other ideas and sent Damien Howson to the front of the GC group, but closing the two-minute gap to the leaders would be a tall order.

The chase lacked real urgency, so Pidcock decided to try it himself. But UAE wasn’t about to let the Brit ride off and quickly shut it down. It was clear Q36.5 wouldn’t get their shot today. UAE then took over pace-setting themselves, perhaps with Del Toro still aiming for the stage win. Movistar also joined in on the chase, which only reduced the chances of the eight leaders up the road.

With sixteen kilometers to go, the gap dipped below one minute and the climb to Le Motte (3.1 kilometers at 8 percent) still lay ahead. Suddenly, it looked like the stage winner might come from the GC group, as the leaders hit the base of the final climb with only thirty seconds in hand. Behind, Carapaz looked comfortable once again, with Del Toro well positioned near the front.

The break was not giving up just yet. Bardet launched a fierce attack, followed closely by Pellizzari and then Rubio, both trying to bridge. Bernal could not follow and was dropped. That was when Del Toro unleashed a vicious acceleration. Only Carapaz could hold the wheel of the pink jersey. The two South Americans set off in pursuit of Bardet, who was charging toward the finish with a narrow advantage.

With just over five kilometers to go, Del Toro and Carapaz reeled in the Frenchman, forming a leading trio heading into Bormio. The chasers Yates, Gee, Pellizzari, Rubio, Poole and Caruso—were still just seven seconds behind. With 1.5 kilometers to go, Del Toro launched again with a searing attack. No one could follow, and the Mexican rode solo to his first-ever Grand Tour stage win. Bardet held on for second, with Carapaz rounding out the podium in third.