Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek) powered to a solo breakaway victory in Sunday’s lumpy 15th stage on a costly stage for pre-race favorite Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who lost the wheel to cede more time to the GC leaders at the Giro d’Italia.
Verona worked into the day’s main break and then attacked on the final climb to solo home 50km to win Lidl-Trek’s sixth stage win in the 2025 edition in the 219km stage from Fiume Veneto to Asiago.
Spain’s Verona’s win was sweet redemption for Lidl-Trek, who saw its GC leader Giulio Ciccone pull out after Saturday’s disaster crash.
“I didn’t hope to win a stage because I came to this Giro to help support Ciccone, and I was fine with that,” Verona said. “Everything changed yesterday and today I said, OK, I will do it for the team. I only had one victory, and I had Ciccone in my mind and I know how many sacrifices he made. I was racing today for this team.”
Florian Stork and Christian Scaroni rounded out the podium as they fended off the chasing group of the favorites.
Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) rode into an elite GC group that broke up on the day’s final climb and he finished just behind the remnants of the day’s early break at 29 seconds back. The Mexican sensation missed out on finish-line time bonuses but solidified his grip on pink.
The day’s big story came when Roglič lost contact with the GC group to lose time for the second day in a row.
The 2023 Giro winner lost 1:30 to his direct GC rivals and slipped from fifth to 10th, now at 3:53 back.
The Giro peloton enjoys its final rest day Monday and clicks back into gear in Tuesday’s monstrous multi-climb stage that should pulverize the race.
Redemption for Verona, Roglič loses time
After a costly pileup Saturday, with Ciccone not taking Sunday’s start, the two-climb stage seemed destined for a breakaway.
Ineos Grenadiers lit things up on the day’s main climb at the Cat. 1 Monte Grappa, with Del Toro and Richard Carapaz matching the moves by an aggressive Egan Bernal. A big group of about 30 went over the top of the monster climb.
The GC favorites didn’t sit up exactly, but several stage-hunters took up the chase. Verona jumped on the day’s final climb at the Cat. 2 Dori climb and extracted himself from the pursuers with about 45km to go. The 32-year-old journeyman took an emotional stage win, just his second pro win in a career dedicated to helping others.
Behind Verona and the breakaway riders, Carapaz pushed hard at the front to draw out the strongest, but Roglič was struggling to mark the wheel.
Primož Roglič descend ce soir à la 10ème place du classement général, à 3’53” du Mexicain Isaac Del Toro… #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/18b0bODIXY
— Cycling Legend (@CyclingLegend_) May 25, 2025
Sensing an opening, everyone piled on and contributed to driving the stake into the 2023 Giro winner and perhaps the most dangerous rider in the bunch.
The 2023 Giro champ lost 1:30 to the maglia rosa and dropped from fifth to 10th overall with a total deficit of 3:53 one week left to go.
Del Toro — who took pink last weekend in Siena — was riding safely to mark his GC rivals but never went into the red. He carries a lead of 1:20 to Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) and 1:26 to teammate Juan Ayuso.
“We were with the team setting a pace without really wanting to go too hard at Monte Grappa, and Ineos came like a train. Then I saw Bernal and Carapaz, and I just tried to roll with them and stay in the front and not take a lot of risk,” Del Toro said. “It’s an amazing dream and I can realize that I am here fighting every day. It’s so hard, but with this team, I think everything is possible. Now I need to race against my idols, it’s such a big dream for me.”
The clock is ticking for Roglič, who slipped to 10th and will have some work to do in the Giro’s final week if he hopes to pull on a second maglia rosa.
Full results stage 15: Verona for the win, Roglič loses time
What’s next: Rest day ahead of major mountain tussle
The peloton enjoys a final breather Monday before plowing headlong into Tuesday’s 16th stage that could turn the GC upside down (again).
This will be a stage of two races, with a pack full of breakaway riders looking to ride this one to the line. Things open up gradually enough heading to the day’s lone Cat. 2 at 75km, providing plenty of pavement for a break to form.
Three consecutive category-three climbs will put the pinch on the GC, with anyone struggling with bad legs facing a potential disaster.
Riding into the third week, the Cat. 1 summit finale up San Valentino — 18.2km with ramps as steep as 14 percent — should separate the pretenders from the legitimate contenders to the Giro throne.
Anyone with diamonds in their legs could blow open the race. The pressure will be on Del Toro and UAE to manage the inevitable attacks.