Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia was billed as a decisive Alpine showdown, and it delivered on every front. A huge day in the mountains saw Nicolas Prodhomme take a career-best win from the breakaway, while the general classification battle tightened further behind him as Richard Carapaz and Isaac Del Toro gained time on all of their key rivals, most notably Simon Yates.
Almost from the flag, a large break formed on the day’s opening climbs. Over 30 riders were in the move early on, including riders from Bahrain Victorious, Lidl-Trek, Jayco-AlUla, and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. The action began to heat up on the Col Saint-Pantaléon, where Prodhomme, Carlos Verona, and Antonio Tiberi surged ahead, eventually forming the day’s leading trio.
Prodhomme made his decisive move on the Col de Joux, attacking solo with 7km still remaining to the summit. Behind him, the favourites were coming to life. Carapaz launched the first real GC move with a sharp dig just before the summit, but it was neutralised by UAE Team Emirates’ pace-setting. Further back, Simon Yates and Derek Gee were clinging on.
The final climb to Antagnod saw the defining moment: with just under 7km to go, Carapaz went again. This time, only Del Toro could follow. The pink jersey looked calm on the Ecuadorian’s wheel, and though he offered no help, he matched every acceleration.
Photo Credit: LaPresseProdhomme had enough time in hand to hold off the charge from behind and claim his first Grand Tour stage win. The Frenchman, who also won a stage at the Tour of the Alps last month, crossed the line visibly emotional. “Only in the last kilometre I believed I could win,” he said afterwards. “I saw the team car behind me, so I knew the gap was still big. This is huge for me.”
Behind, Del Toro outsprinted Carapaz for second place, taking two bonus seconds and extending his overall lead to 43 seconds. Simon Yates crossed the line 24 seconds later in a small chase group, unable to respond to the late attacks. He now sits 1:22 behind Del Toro overall and 38 seconds behind Carapaz.
Yates cut a frustrated figure at the finish in Champoluc. “I felt good, but those two guys are just much more explosive than me. I can’t follow them when they explode,” he said. Asked about Visma-Lease a Bike’s decision to push the pace earlier on the Col de Joux, his answer was telling: “It was completely different to what we planned, so I’ll have to review that with the team.”
Marc Reef, his directeur sportif, had a different view. “It went exactly as we agreed. We wanted to make the race hard where possible, and I think the guys did a great job,” he said. “In the end, it came down to who had the best legs – and Del Toro and Carapaz were just a bit stronger.”
Photo Credit: LaPresseEven race leader Del Toro noticed the tactics, suggesting they were aimed at making him crack. “They probably wanted to make me suffer, like I did on stage 16,” he said. “But I was glad I could stay up there. What my teammates did for me was incredible.”
As for Carapaz, the EF Education-EasyPost rider is bracing for one last shot at pink on Saturday’s brutal stage to Sestriere via the Colle delle Finestre. “I think tomorrow will be different. Longer, more serious. A lot can still change,” he said.
Yates, for his part, was unsure of what’s left in the tank. “We’ll see if we can come up with something else,” he admitted. “There’s also gravel halfway and I prefer not to do that. We’ll see how the legs are. They were good today… hopefully they’ll be good tomorrow and I can try something.”
Saturday’s stage 20 is a 205km Alpine monster. The Colle delle Finestre – 18.4km at 9.2%, including 7km of gravel – returns for the first time since Chris Froome’s iconic long-range raid in 2018. After that comes the final climb to Sestriere. Just 43 seconds separate the two strongest riders in the race, and with one more true GC battle to come, everything remains to play for.
2025 Giro d’Italia Stage 19 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: LaPresse
