Yates loses time as Del Toro closes in on Giro title

In the Giro d’Italia, Isaac del Toro marginally extended his lead before Nicolas Prodhomme, who had triumphed solo on stage 19 to set up the decisive finale.

Del Toro, from Mexico, jumped to second place on the stage to move two seconds clear of Richard Carapaz, who finished third overall and is now 43 seconds behind.

Simon Yates, a British national, was dropped late in the standings, but he now trails Del Toro, a 21-year-old man, by one minute and 21 seconds in the leader’s pink jersey.

The final stage of the Sunday race in Rome follows a processional route, with tradition dictating that the race leader will not be attacked.

Yates, a Bike rider, clearly frustrated after finishing 24 seconds behind Del Toro in seventh place on Visma-Lease.

He told Eurosport, “I will talk about that with the team because the plan was completely different from what we did today.”

I’ll leave that out of my mouth.

However, team director Marc Reef said Carapaz and Del Toro were “just a little stronger” and that the day “exactly went as we agreed.”

Although Yates, 32, has the potential to overtake Carapaz and Del Toro, it seems most likely that this year will add to his heartache from his attempts to win the Giro.

He held on for 13 days in 2018, but Chris Froome made a remarkable comeback to win the race in the final week.

After finishing in eighth place in 2019, Yates had to leave the 2020 competition with Covid-19, and he then had to bounce back from a difficult first two weeks to finish third in 2021.

Adam Yates’ twin brother, Adam, sat up and dropped out of the top 10 overall to aid team-mate Del Toro on Saturday.

Del Toro, the 2019 Giro champion from Ecuador, attempted to drop him on the final climb, but was unable to hold his hand. He is aiming to become the youngest winner of the Giro since 1940.