Denz wins Giro stage 18 as Del Toro retains lead

Isaac del Toro retained his overall leader’s pink jersey while Nico Denz won the Giro d’Italia with a stunning victory on stage 18.

With 11 kilometers left, Denz of Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe took the lead.

The 31-year-old continued to dominate the final two kilometers of the 144-kilometer race from Morbegno to Cesano Maderno, crossing the line just before the chase pack to claim his third Giro stage victory.

After pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic had to abandon the race on Tuesday due to his crash on stage 16, the German’s team won the first event of the year.

Denz claimed that this was probably the most emotional of my Giro victories.

“Losing Jai Hindley very early on, the entire team, staff included, was fully committed to helping Primoz Roglic win the Giro. For that, we spent two months at high altitude.

“It took me three months to get ready for the Giro.” When Primoz was lost, a dream vanished. We assumed that all this work was in vain. Thankfully, things stabilized.

Del Toro of UAE Team Emirates-XRG held on to Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost for the overall lead after three stages.

Juan Ayuso, Del Toro’s teammate, was forced to resign from the race after suffering a bee sting on stage 17 while suffering an allergic reaction.

The Spaniard claimed that his doctor had advised him against participating in Thursday’s stage 18 but that he had to make the start line before having to leave after an hour.

Ayuso told TNT Sports before the performance that “it’s been a couple of difficult days.” A bee entered my helmet yesterday, and now my right eye is obscured.