Isaac del Toro inched closer to becoming the first Mexican winner of the Giro d’Italia after defending pink in Friday’s five-climb, 166km stage 19 pressure-cooker high in the Italian Alps.
After marking a lethal surge from GC rival Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) on the day’s final climb, the 21-year-old from Baja California will ride into Saturday’s mountain finale in the maglia rosa.
Nicolas Prodhomme saved the Giro for Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale by attacking out of the day’s main breakaway on the penultimate climb to snatch the stage win 58 seconds clear of the GC chasers.
“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,” the French rider said. “On Col de Joux, I realized that I needed to take risks otherwise we were going nowhere. I’ve come fifth on two stages because I didn’t risk anything. Today I decided to play for winning.”
Despite three big first-category monsters lined up mid-stage, the GC action on a very hot summer day all came down to the Cat. 2 Antagnod (9.5km at 4.7%) and a fast plunge to the finish line.
Carapaz jumped out of the GC group midway up the climb but Del Toro was quick to jump on his wheel, and the powerful pair drove a wedge to the other GC riders. Behind the leading pair, Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) struggled, and Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech) tried to pile on to revive his podium chances.
Del Toro kicked to second ahead of Carapaz to pad his lead by two bonus seconds to 43 seconds. Giulio Pellizzari hit the barriers in the chase group coming across a few seconds behind, but was not seriously injured. Brandon McNulty kicked to fifth in his best stage result in this Giro and nudged into 10th overall.
“I cannot believe all the support I am getting from the team in this Giro,” Del Toro said. “Don’t crash — I just want to arrive healthy and be there tomorrow.”
Yates remained third, but was distanced to 1:21 back, with Gee keeping fourth, now at 2:32.
The GC is still bundled up tight going into Saturday’s epic stage over the Colle delle Finestre, but Del Toro is looking firmly in control.
Stage 19 results: Prodhomme wins, Del Toro defends
Prodhomme sole survivor from big break
On paper, this five-climb, 166km march high over the Italian Alps looked to be a chance to blow up the race, but collective fatigue and the looming presence of Saturday’s final mountain stage seemed to weigh on everyone’s mind (and legs).
Not to say it was a group ride. The pace was high with the day’s altitude at nearly 5000m vertical. A big group pulled clear, but gravity soon whittled it down to elite stage-hunters.
With just under 30km to go on the ripsaw profile from Biella to Champoluc, the Giro was in the final throes of a tug-of-war between the break and the ever-dwindling GC group in a stage of attrition.
Prodhomme takes his maiden Grand Tour stage win
The DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM rider holds off the general classification favourites to win Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia from the early breakaway
:
1 Prodhomme
2 Del Toro, +58”
3 Carapaz, +58” pic.twitter.com/fdPnISftJx— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 30, 2025
On the day’s final Cat. 1, the lead group shrunk to three, with only Prodhomme, Antonio Tiberi, and Carlos Verona holding on when the Frenchman on Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale launched clear to chase the stage win.
Behind, UAE Team Emirates-XRG took full control after Red Bull and Visma-Lease a Bike set tempo for most of the day.
Of the GC favorites, only Del Toro still had teammates with Rafal Majka, Brandon McNulty, and Igor Arrieta setting a searing tempo. Their effort cut the gap to just over a minute behind the lone leader Prodhomme with 25km to go.
Carapaz finally went on a flare in a move quickly smothered by Simon Yates and Del Toro, with Gee and UAE on the wheel. Red Bull’s Pellizzari led the way over the penultimate summit with the GC favorites still all together heading to fireworks on the final climb.
What’s next: Final mountain throw down
Saving the best for last, Stage 20 delivers the final brutal mountain test of this Giro, with the top 3 podium spots still in play.
The Giro-decider could be the towering Colle del Finestre, with the upper reaches contested over the famous and dusty gravel sectors.
A high-speed descent leads the bunch to the Cat. 3 dash up to the Sestriere summit finish. The GC favorites will be throwing haymakers on the Giro’s final major climbs to try to shake loose the maglia rosa.