Isaac del Toro holds firm in battle for pink jersey as Richard Carapaz threatens late Giro d'Italia twist
Nicolas Prodhomme claimed the first Grand Tour stage win of his career when he rode solo to victory on stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, while Mexico's pink jersey holder Isaac del Toro came second to extend his overall lead.
On their penultimate day in the mountains, the riders faced a brutal 166 km ride from Biella to Champoluc with five classified climbs and a total elevation gain of nearly 5,000 metres.
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale's Prodhomme broke free on the fourth climb to take the lead and eventually the victory to become the first Frenchman to win a Giro stage this year.
"I've worked a lot for this Giro d'Italia. I didn't want to compete for the GC (general classification), I wanted to try and win a stage. I've waited for long for this win to come," Prodhomme said.
"I won my first race three weeks ago (on the Tour of the Alps) but to win at the Giro d'Italia makes me very happy. It's a beautiful day."
Prodhomme had attacked with over seven kilometres left to the summit and he quickly put distance between himself and stage 15 winner Carlos Verona and Antonio Tiberi while the group with Del Toro was more than a minute behind.
As the general classification battle raged behind him, the 28-year-old pushed ahead and on the home stretch, he emerged through a cloud of pink smoke, holding his helmet in disbelief as he crossed the line to win by nearly a minute.
"Our breakaway didn't have a big gap. I didn't feel great when I followed the first attacks. My legs were stiff on the first climb. Kilometre after kilometre, I felt better on the bike," Prodhomme added.
"On Col de Joux, I realised that I needed to take risks - otherwise we were going nowhere... Before today I've had two top-five finishes because I don't take a lot of risks. Today I wanted to play for the win."
Richard Carapaz, who was second in the general classification, attacked with 6.8 kilometres left but UAE Team Emirates rider Del Toro responded by staying glued to his wheel as they left third-placed Simon Yates behind.
Del Toro then beat his closest rival in the sprint to the finish to take second place and remain the firm favourite for the title with two stages left after his other rivals lost 24 seconds or more.
Del Toro's lead is now 43 seconds over Carapaz while Yates is a minute and 21 seconds behind in third.
"I had the legs to be with Richard... I cannot take more risks but today was incredible," Del Toro said.
"Everyone in our country is starting to see how hard cycling is. It's just incredible... I can't believe I'm the guy representing the country!"
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