Mexico's Del Toro completes a full week in pink. He's got 1 more week to go to win the Giro
Now he's got one more week to go as the 21-year-old attempts to beat all of the pre-race favorites and claim his first Grand Tour victory.
And what a final week it will be, with all of the biggest climbs in this year's race grouped together before the Giro ends in Rome next Sunday.
Del Toro closed down attack after attack on the two climbs of the 15th stage Sunday and maintained his advantage of 1 minute, 20 seconds over Simon Yates.
Notably, pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic, the 2023 champion who was fifth overall, was dropped on the second climb and lost about 90 seconds in the standings.
Spanish rider Carlos Verona got into an early breakaway and won the stage on his own for the biggest victory of his career.
The 219-kilometer (136-mile) route from Fiume Veneto to Asiago included a big climb up Monte Grappa at the stage's midpoint.
Egan Bernal, the 2021 champion, attacked near the top of Monte Grappa and Del Toro was quick to follow. As was Richard Carapaz, the 2019 champion, before all of the leaders came back together following the descent.
There were more attacks on another, shorter climb to Dori, with a summit 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the finish. But Del Toro, the first Mexican rider to wear the pink jersey, was the first to react to all of those attacks, too.
Monday is the race's third and final rest day.
Stage 16 on Tuesday is one of the race's toughest, a 203-kilometer (126-mile) leg from Piazzola Sul Brenta to San Valentino that includes four major climbs across the Dolomites — including an uphill finish.
___
AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2025 Tour de France standings going into final stage, with Tadej Pogačar set to win 2nd consecutive trophy
The 2025 Tour de France is set to complete its final stage on Sunday (July 27) and Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar is poised to win the race for the second consecutive year. Going into Sunday's Stage 21, Pogačar has a lead of 4 minutes, 24 seconds over Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, who won the 2022 and 2023 races. Australian rider Kaden Groves won Stage 20, but is not among the top 10 cyclists in the standings as the race advances to its final stage. The final stage is a 132.3km ride from Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris, cycling up the Butte Montmartre three times before the final laps of the race on the famed Champs-Elysees. Here is how the overall standings line up after Stage 20 was completed: Tadej Pogačar, Slovenia: 69 hours, 41 minutes, 46 seconds Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark: 69:46.10 (4 minutes, 24 seconds behind) Florian Lipowitz, Germany: 69:52.55 (11 minutes, 9 seconds behind) Oscar Onley, Great Britain: 69:53.58 (12 minutes, 12 seconds behind) Felix Gall, Austria: 69:58.58 (17 minutes, 12 seconds behind) Tobias Johannessen, Norway: 70:02.00 (20 minutes, 14 seconds behind) Kevin Vauquelin, France: 70:04.21 (22 minutes, 35 seconds behind) Primoz Roglic, Slovenia: 70:07.16 (25 minutes, 30 seconds behind) Ben Healy, Ireland: 70:09.48 (28 minutes, 2 seconds behind) Ben O'Connor, Australia: 70:16.20 (34 minutes, 34 seconds behind) A victory for Pogačar would be his fourth Tour de France win. He also won consecutive Coupe Omnisports trophies in 2020 and 2021, prior to Vingegaard's two straight wins. Last year's Tour de France victory made him only the third male cyclist in history to win the Triple Crown of Cycling, also finishing first in the Girl and the World Championsips during the same year.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Report – Inter Milan Aiming To Offload Belgium International Imminently
Inter Milan are aiming to offload defender Zinho Vanheusden within the next week or two. This according to Italian outlet FCInterNews. They report that the Belgian has not reported for preseason training, and the Nerazzurri are working with his agents to find a solution. Inter Milan signed defender Zinho Vanheusden to their youth academy all the way back in 2015. The Belgian was very highly rated when the Nerazzurri brought him in from Standard Liege. And the hopes were high for him. Inter would loan Vanheusden back to Standard for some time. Then, they subsequently sold him on a permanent basis. And in the summer of 2021, exercised a buyback clause on the young defender. A succession of loan spells followed. Vanheusden joined Genoa and then AZ Alkmaar on loan. However, these two years were absolutely blighted by injury for the Belgian. Including a broken foot that he sustained while at AZ. Inter Aiming To Offload Zinho Vanheusden In Next Couple Weeks Belgium's Zinho Vanheusden pictured during a press moment of Belgian national soccer team Red Devils to prepare three qualification games for the 2022 World Cup, Tuesday 31 August 2021 in Tubize. BELGA PHOTO BRUNO FAHY (Photo by BRUNO FAHY/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images) In the summer of 2023, Inter loaned Vanheusden back to Standard Liege. For whatever reason, the Belgian's boyhood club seemed to be the one place that he could avoid unfortunate injuries and string together some playing time. However, Standard did not sign Vanheusden outright at the end of that loan spell. Therefore, the Belgian joined Mechelen on loan last summer. However, Vanheusden barely featured for the Belgian club. Once again, injuries played a major role in this. Having once looked like he could feature regularly for Belgium, even earning a senior cap, Vanheusden looks very much out in the cold. There would hardly be any chance of the 25-year-old playing for Inter. However, as the Gazzetta note, Vanheusden is still under contract with the Nerazzurri. The Belgian is still on the same five-year deal that he signed when he rejoined Inter in the summer of 2025. According to FCInterNews, though, Inter are looking to facilitate an exit for Vanheusden soon. The Belgian has not reported for preseason training. That in spite of the fact that he is still under contract with the Nerazzurri. According to FCIN, Inter have been in contact with Vanheusden's representatives. They are hoping that they can find a new club for him within the next week or two. Furthermore, FCIN report, Vanheusden is not likely to join another club in Belgium again.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I've shown them: Groves completes grand set of wins
Australia's Kaden Groves has completed his set of grand tour stage wins after traversing the slippery roads to triumph on the penultimate day of the Tour de France. His late solo breakaway left the big two of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard trailing in the pouring rain of northern France. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider surged ahead 16 kilometres from home and held on for his first Tour stage win and 10th at major races. The 26-year-old from the Sunshine Coast has claimed two at the Giro d'Italia and seven at the Spanish Vuelta. 🏆 🇦🇺 Kaden Groves wins in Pontarlier! 🏆 🇦🇺 Kaden Groves s'impose à Pontarlier !#TDF2025 | @Continental_fr — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 26, 2025 His bike-handling skills in the wet were to the fore as he negotiated a sodden descent 21km from the finish while two other rivals skidded out of control. He finished 54 seconds ahead of Frank van den Broek and 59 clear of Pascal Eenkhoorn, bursting into tears as he crossed the finish line in Pontarlier. He said: "There's so much pressure at the Tour, and having won in the Giro, having won in the Vuelta, all I ever get asked is am I good enough to win in the Tour? And now I show them. "It's my first time winning, so it's pretty incredible." Earlier in the stage, another Australian, Harrison Sweeny, had made his mark. When the front group tackled the 3.6km Côte de Thésy, Frenchman Jordan Jegat launched a solo attack, but he was then overtaken by Sweeny. As rain fell heavily again after 40km, Sweeny opened up a 50-second lead, only to be quickly reeled in. Aside from the Australian cameos, Pogačar kept things safe to maintain his healthy lead over arch-rival Vingegard and set the stage for a triumphant finale into Paris on Sunday. The Slovenian ace has a 4 minutes 24 seconds advantage over two-time Tour winner Vingegaard with Germany's Florian Lipowitz 11:03 behind Pogačar in third overall. Barring a dramatic misadventure, Pogačar should complete the job on Sunday and move level with British rider Chris Froome on four Tour titles. Victory would also give Pogačar a fifth Grand Tour after winning the Giro d'Italia in dominant fashion last year. However, Sunday's final stage is not a processional one, as is usually the case, and could potentially prove troublesome toward the end with three consecutive climbs. Saturday's 184.2km route from Nantua through eastern France featured three small climbs and a moderately difficult one up Côte de Thésy. The wet roads were treacherous at high speeds, with France's Romain Grégoire and Spaniard Iván Romeo both crashing as they attempted to navigate tight turns. Both were able to continue. The final stage is a 132.3km ride from Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris, where the peloton will cycle up the famous Butte Montmartre three times before the final laps on the Champs-Elysees. With agencies
