Simon Yates has won the Giro d’Italia, the British rider leaping from third into the maglia rosa on the penultimate stage with a ride for the ages, banishing the ghosts of his 2018 heartbreak by winning the race on the very same climb, the iconic Colle delle Finestre.

It was a redemption storyline for the romantics, Yates back on the Colle delle Finestre where in 2018 Chris Froome ripped the pink jersey from his back with a legendary solo effort as his compatriot cracked and, despite having led the race for 13 stages and won three, dropped all the way to 18th in the space of six punishing hours of suffering.

Simon Yates on the Colle delle Finestre, stage 20, 2025 Giro d'Italia
Simon Yates on the Colle delle Finestre, stage 20, 2025 Giro d'Italia (Image Credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Seven years on, on the exact same incline where Yates’ lights went out, he danced away from Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz before growing his advantage on the iconic gravel section.

As his two rivals’ cohesion to chase faltered, the Visma-Lease a Bike climber was joined by Wout van Aert, who had been in the break and drove his leader through the valley, coming to a near standstill before the rider from Bury ascended to Sestriere the new leader of the race, five minutes ahead of his rivals and the winner of the Giro d’Italia.

Simon Yates wins 2025 Giro d'Italia
Simon Yates wins 2025 Giro d'Italia (Image Credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

“This makes up for a lot,” Yates said afterwards, still in disbelief at his achievement. “I felt amazing. I hadn’t really shown what I was capable of in this Giro yet, but everything clicked. When the route was announced last winter, I immediately had this stage marked. I had some unfinished business here. I wanted to show what I was worth, no matter the result.

“There have been plenty of setbacks leading up to this. Every season I keep giving everything I have. Winning the Giro would be a great reward for all the hard work over the past few years. I also need to thank my teammates. In the tough moments of the past three weeks, they always stood by me. This one’s for them.”

His victory was secured in Rome, the final-day sprint stage going to Visma-Lease a Bike as well as Olav Kooij won his second stage of the race.

Yates becomes the third British male rider to have won the Italian Grand Tour, after Tao Geoghegan Hart in 2020’s Covid edition and Froome’s aforementioned 2018 success at Yates’ expense. Nicole Cooke is the only other Brit to have won the Giro, winning the women’s edition in 2004.

It was a day of celebration for Visma-Lease a Bike, but also one of sadness, a minute’s silence held ahead of the stage in memory of former rider Robert Gesink’s wife who died on Saturday.

Team sports director Marc Reef said Yates’ Finestre escape was always the plan, even if “we never expected it to play out this perfectly”.

“Carapaz and Del Toro were watching each other, and Simon attacked at exactly the right moment,” Reef explained. “The plan we laid out was executed down to the finest detail. Wout’s work was also instrumental. This is a fantastic result for the team. Simon has ridden a smart race, and today he showed just how strong he really is.”

Van Aert’s role was crucial, the Belgian back in his superdomestique role that Jonas Vingegaard has benefited from so many times at the Tour de France, dropping back from the breakaway to guide his teammate through the valley before the final effort to Sestriere.

There was a long transfer back south to Rome for the final stage, the riders stopping for an audience with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican before the usual last day at school photos and toasts.

Del Toro has to be commended for his graciousness in defeat, the Mexican who has inspired his nation over these past three weeks and surely has many of his own successes to look forward to in the future. His consolation prize was the white jersey for the youth standings, while Mads Pedersen and Lorenzo Fortunato showed off the points and climbing jerseys that they’ve both been in since Albania.

The frustration of stage 20’s events, a day Richard Carapaz would have believed was set up for him to be the rider moving into pink, not Yates, showed in the Ecuadorian’s post-stage comments, Carapaz suggesting “finally he [Del Toro] lost the Giro” and accusing his UAE Team Emirates rival of not racing intelligently. 

By Sunday evening however even Carapaz was able to raise a smile to the cameras, the riders enjoying another sun-bathed spin around Rome’s famous landmarks, Kooij the final rider to get to raise his arms in victory.