As it happened: Pink jersey dramatically changes hands on stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia

Hello and welcome to stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia!

It’s the climactic GC showdown of the 2025 Giro d’Italia, and the stage is set for a thriller. The podium replaces remain so closely poised, with just 43 seconds between first and second, and 38 seconds between second and third - gaps that could be obliterated on a mountain as fearsome as Colle delle Finestre.

Having held the pink jersey since the end of the first week, it all comes down to this for Isaac del Toro. He told Cyclingnews that he wants to stay “calm” today, but that’s going to be hard amid such tension. His lead on GC is only slender, but he only has one more day to defend it for. 

The main man trying to dislodge Del Toro from the top of the classification at this last hurdle is Richard Carapaz. The Ecuadorian has been aggressive for much of this Giro, and has succeeded in gradually chipping away at Del Toro’s lead to the point where he’s only 43 seconds adrift. 

But if he’s to finish off the job, he’ll need to succeed today in where he failed yesterday, and manage to drop Del Toro. “I don't think everyone knows how hard it is,” he said yesterday, “so I think a lot can still change.”

The riders are on the move through the neutralised zone, and will be racing for real soon. Excitement is building!

Be sure to have a read of our preview of the stage.

2025 Giro d'Italia stage 20 preview - Maglia rosa hunters poised for showdown on 'monster' Colle delle Finestre gravel climb

OFFICIAL START

And they're off!

The opening 60km of this stage are flat, so it's not just the climbers who can try and get into the break.

Five riders have a small gap, with the ever-aggressive Dries De Bondt among them.

It’s actually a 6-man group rather than 5, and is currently being led by Enzo Paleni.

Other teams in this group are Cofidis, Alpecin, Lidl and Soudal.

200KM TO GO

There are 7 riders in this lead group: De Bondt, Paleni, Heiduk, Mosca, Kielich, Moniquet and Garofoli. They lead by 30 seconds.

The peloton at the start of the stage.

The peloton hasn’t sat up, and there are still riders trying tentative attacks, but the gap has grown out to 50 seconds.

Like yesterday, it’s very hot out there, which will make an already gruelling stage even harder.

190KM TO GO

The gap's grown to over a minute, up to 1:07. This is a strange one, as other riders haven't given up on attacking out of the bunch, but nobody is going clear and the leading seven continue to disappear further and further away.

A chasing group of 6 riders have now succeeded in breaking clear of the peloton. Among them is Mads Pedersen in his maglia ciclamino.

Del Toro is having a chat with Egan Bernal towards the back of the peloton. Bernal won his first Grand Tour at the age of 22 - if Del Toro succeeds in wrapping up this Giro, he’ll do so at the even younger age of 21.

The Pedersen chase group also contains his teammate Verona, Hayter, Bussato,  Barrenetxea and Tarozzi.

That chase group is making up ground, 36 seconds ahead of the peloton and 38 seconds behind the leaders.

Here are the seven riders in the lead group.

Mosca is no longer taking turns in the front group, with his two teammates Pedersen and Verona in the chase group behind. 

180KM TO GO

The lead group is 35 seconds ahead of the chase group, who are moving further away from the peloton, now 50 seconds ahead. 

Here’s the second group on the road, being led by Mads Pedersen. 

There’s a notable lack of climbing specialists in these two lead groups, with only Carlos Verona really standing out. That might mean there are teams and riders who want to keep these breaks in check before making their own moves on the climbs later on, with an eye for the stage win.

170KM TO GO

The Pedersen chase group is nearly with the lead group now, with just 15 more seconds to make up. The peloton is an further one minute behind. 

The two lead groups have come together. 

A new chase group has also formed, having jumped out the peloton. There are about 15 riders in it, including Wout van Aert.

The peloton does seem happy now, and have sat up. They’re already 1:40 behind this new chase group.

The chase group looks like it should join the 13 leaders. They have only 40 seconds left to make up.

This chase group has some potential stage winners, who are better-suited to the mountains coming up later - in particular, Pello Bilbao and Chris Harper.

The peloton has well and truly sat up now. They’ve let the lead group have over three minutes.

And now the chase group has caught the leaders, forming a big new lead group of over 30 riders. We have our break of the day.

160KM TO GO

UAE have taken responsibility for leading the peloton, with the gap to the lead group up to 4:18.

With the break formed and the peloton content with it, the race has calmed down. We await the first climb, the category four Corio, which is coming up in about 15km.

This next climb is nothing compared to what waits for the riders later in the stage - Colle delle Finestre. It’s only featured at the Giro since 2005, but has already attained a legendary status comparable to the race’s oldest climbs, with so many epic stages and stories taking place on its impossibly steep gradients.

Snow, gravel and a Chris Froome epic – The Colle delle Finestre is the modern legend of the Giro d'Italia.

150KM TO GO

The gap's still growing out, to 6:12. 

No rider in this 31-man lead group is within an hour of Del Toro on GC, with Chris Harper the highest place in 28th at 1:16:16.

Here's a look at the day's break, being led by its headline name, Wout van Aert.

De Bondt attacks out of the lead group at the intermediate sprint, to take the points uncontested, with Pederen not going for them. He therefore moves ahead of Pedersen in the intermediate sprints classification.

140KM TO GO

The break's lead is still growing, to just short of eight minutes. This is one of the biggest gaps we've seen thoughout this whole Giro. 

KOM - CORIO

The break are on the first climb of the day, the category 4 Corio. It's 6.5km ay 3.7%. 

Davide Bais was with a car receiving some medical treatment, and seems to have gone down in a crash.

Jimmy Janssens has needed to stop to change bikes, and is now making his way back up into the break. 

None of the riders sprinted for the KOM points at the top of the climb, with Tarozzi leading over the top from Marcellusi and Geniets. 

130KM TO GO

8:45 is the gap between the break and the peloton, which is now being led by EF Education-EasyPost.

Kasper Asgreen is the EF rider setting the pace. With nobody in the break a GC threat, there’s no obligation for UAE to do any work - instead, it’s up to EF to take the race to them to set Carapaz up for an assault on the pink jersey.

Del Toro is looking composed in the peloton, which is currently experiencing the calm before the storm.

Janssens has at last rejoined the lead group, following his mechanical earlier.

120KM TO GO

Asgreen’s work at the front of the peloton isn’t having much of an effect on the break’s lead, which has only come down a little, to 8:30.

There's a long line of EF riders leading the peloton now, and not just Asgreen. The plan might be to start applying the pressure on the next climb, the category two Colle del Lys, which is coming up in just over 10km.

110KM TO GO

The race is still in a holding pattern, with EF leading the peloton and keeping the break at 8:35. Things will start to change when they officially start the next climb.

Carapaz is at the EF team car having a word. What plan have they conducted for this all-important stage?

The road has been going uphill for some time now, but the gradient is soon to get steeper for the official start of the climb.

There’s a strange development in the peloton, as the rest of the group let the wheel go to the 3 EF riders leading, and give them a gap. The 3 riders have to sit up and wait for the rest of the peloton to catch them up.

The problem for EF is that nobody else has an incentive to ride hard. And with Carapaz with the team car, the GC riders could afford to let the wheel go.

COLLE DEL LYS

The breakaway has begun the climb, the Colle del Lys. It’s long, lasting 13.7km, and averages only 4.2%, but there are some steeper sections in the first half before it flattens out.

100KM TO GO

The peloton is on the climb too, and is 8:20 away from the break. 

Unlike Del Toro’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who have had both Juan Ayuso and Jay Vine abandon earlier in the race, EF Education-EasyPost still have a full roster of riders to lead the peloton with.

The lead group have done the harder part of the climb, and remain all together. 

Verona had to stop for a mechanical, and Pedersen has dropped back to pace him into the lead group again. 

Pedersen and Verona got themselves back into the lead group, and are now at the front of the break as they near the summit of the climb.

90KM TO GO

The break's lead over the peloton is 8 minutes. 

There’s a bit of competition for the points at the top of the climb. Tarozzi, who’s 4th in the KOM classification, moved ahead to take the points, but rather than let him have them Mosca accelerated himself.

Tarozzi still managed to gain the maximum points, accelerating again to edge Mosca at the line. Here are the updated rankings:

1 Fortunato 355

2 Scaroni 201

3 Prodhomme 107

4 Tarozzi  87

5 Carapaz 47

The peloton reach the top of the climb, 7:50 behind the break. 

A dodgy moment on the descent as five EF riders got a corner wrong, and had to brake in order not to fall.

80KM TO GO

The breakaway riders are further down the mountain, nearing the end of the descent 7:55 ahead.

70KM TO GO

The break has reached the bottom of the descent, having grown their lead to 8:45. They’ll now take on about 30km of valley road, before the start of the mighty Colle delle Finestre.

Van Aert and De Bondt sprint for the points at the intermediate sprint, with Van Aert coming out on top. 

Here's Del Toro on the descent. His moment of truth will be coming up in the next hour or so.

The break has done a great job growing their lead on the previous descent and now the flat. It’s grown to over nine minutes. That could come tumbling down on Colle delle Finestre, but the stronger climbers in the break must fancy their chances of winning the stage from here. 

60KM TO GO

Still the gap grows, up to 9:45. Kasper Asgreen continues to lead the peloton for EF, but if the plan was for them to catch the break and bring bonus seconds into play, it's looking less and less likely.

The gap's gone up to over ten minutes for the first time.

Only about 10km until the start of Colle delle Finestre. Of the riders in the break, Pello Bilbao, Carlos Verona and Chris Harper stand out as the most accomplished climbers, who will hope to use this mountain as a platform to go on and win the stage.

Wout van Aert is of course also in the break but you expect his role will be to help Simon Yates out later on. He could be especially useful on the shallower final climb to the finish at Sestriere.

50KM TO GO

10:00 minutes remains the gap, the start of the climb now just a few kilometres away. 

COLLE DELLE FINESTRE

Here we go, the breakaway have begun the climb!

Already De Bondt and Heiduk have been dropped out of the break. They're up against over an hour of suffering before they reach the top. 

Mosca was setting the pace in the break, but has ground to a halt. Now Pedersen takes over - Lidl are trying to set up Verona for another stage win.

Surprisingly, Pello Bilbao is struggling to hold on in the breakaway group. On paper he looked like the best climber present.

Pedersen is causing serious damage here. Bilbao has now been dropped, as has Van Aert. 

There are only about 10 riders left in the front group, being led by Pedersen.

Even Pedersen's leader Verona is struggling under this pace. Pedersen has therefore had to knock it off.

With Pedersen having stopped, Rochas has attacked. Harper is on his wheel.

Pedersen has dropped back to Verona and sprayed some water on him. Perhaps Verona is struggling in the heat. 

EF lead the peloton onto the Colle delle Finestre. Rafferty takes over, and is already laying the hammer down.

Up ahead, Rochas and Harper are about 5 seconds ahead of a chase group containing Janssens, Hamilton, Verre, Pacher and Garofoli.

Harper has attacked and gone clear of Rochas, and has now been joined by Verre. 

In the peloton, Rafferty is giving it his all, and doesn't look like he'll be riding at the front much longer.

.As we speak, Rafferty is finished. Carapaz still has three teammates left. 

The pace is up even more, and gap are appearing at the front already.

Carapaz and his teammate have gone clear!

And now Carapaz goes alone...but Del Toro closes the gap.

It's unclear that the plan for EF was for Carapaz to go so early, but the pace was so fast by his EF teammates that a gap opened up between them and Del Toro's teammate McNulty, forcing Del Toro to close it himself. 

Del Toro and Carapaz are already 20 seconds ahead of Simon Yates, whose in a chase group.

Del Toro looks very calm and unruffled so far, but there’s much, much more ft this climb still to come.

The Simon Yates chase group has about 10 riders in it.

Simon Yates now attacks that chase group.

Yates can now see Del Toro and Carapaz.

And now Yates is with Carapaz. This makes matters much more complicated for Del Toro - he has two men to mark, not just one.

Yates attacks already. He means business!

Carapaz and Del Toro can follow him though.

40KM TO GO

Meanwhil Harper and Verre still lead the race, 8:40 ahead.

Gee has now attacked the chase group and is trying to bridge up to the trio alone.

Carapaz has resumed the pace-setting.

Yates attacks again!

Carapaz gets onto his wheel and then Del Toro.

Now Carapaz attacks. They're taking it in turns to try to work over the pink jersey, but he's staying calm and controlled for now.

All three are still together. 

Yates goes for a third time, and it's a big one..but again Carapaz bridges up to him, followed by Del Toro.

The pace has slowed a bit since that last attack, and now Gee can see them.

Yates maes his fourth attack.and this time there's no immediate reaction. 

Yates has a gap!

And it's a big gap - the other two don't want to commit to chasing.

Gee has joined them, and now he's leading the chase. 

Yates is 10 seconds ahead.

He needs 38 seconds to take over Carapaz on GC, and 1:21 to take the pink jersey from Del Toro. That's not impossible on a climb as hard as this...and he has Wout van Aert to help him later on.

Gee is doing all the work behind for now, not wanting to give up on the chance for a podium finish. He's 1:06 behind Yates on GC.

Yates' lead is now at 17 seconds. 

Carapaz attacks!

He's dropped Gee, but not Del Toro.

He's carrying on though, and has a few bikelengths...

...but again Del Toro bridges to him.

This is thrilling racing!

Carapaz and Del Toro are closing in on Yates again, who's only a few seconds ahead. 

Yates is growing his lead again, after that Carapaz acceleration.

Some riders from the original break are now being caught and passed by the GC men. Mosca even did a brief turn for Yates.

Meanwhile up ahead, Harper and Verre are still together at the front. They're 40 seconds ahead of Verona and Garofoli.

Still Carapaz leads without Del Toro taking a turn. Del Toro has calculated that he can afford Yates to have a small gap, and therefore is happy to let Carapaz do the work. The Mexican is playing a blinder here, keeping his head and cool despite all the pressure. 

Yates' lead is up to 20 seconds on Del Toro and Carapaz.

Harper and Verre have reached the gravel sector of the climb. It's about to get even harder!

Verona and Garofoli are on the gravel now, 54 seconds behind.

Carapaz is calling Del Toro's bluff! He's slowed down completely, and is goading Del Toro to lead - it's his pink jersey that's under risk from Yates, after all.

Del Toro refuses, however, and Carapaz goes back to leading. 

Yates’ lead has grown as a result of that slowdown, up to 40 seconds. 

Once again, Carapaz knocks off the pace.

Gee passes them, and still they don't respond.

Now Carapaz attacks.

Del Toro nearly slips! But stays upright, and is back with Carapaz.

Carapaz and Del Toro have passed Gee again. 

Yates is onto the gravel sector. He's about 45 seconds ahead of Carapaz and Del Toro. That puts him on second on the virtual GC - but he still needs to 35 more seconds to take pink from Del Toro.

Gee has bridged back to Del Toro and Carapaz, and is setting the pace. They took begin the gravel.

Yates gap is getting bigger - it's up to over a minute!

1:08 for Yates. He's only 3 seconds from being virtual race leader.

One big question now is: where is Wout van Aert? If he is still ahead of Yates by the top of the climb, and can lead him on the descent and final climb to Sestriere, that could be what swings matters in favour of Yates in the pink jersey race.

At the front, Harper has dropped Verre.

Still it's Gee doing all the work for Del Toro and Carapaz.

Yates' lead is up to 1:25 - he's now the virtual pink jersey!

Del Toro is responding, and taken to the front for the first time.

Gee is dropped, but Carapaz is on his wheel.

Del Toro appeared to have played a tactical blinder up until now, at least in terms of neutralising Carapaz. But he has made a risk by allowing Yates such a big lead. 

Del Toro hasn't managed to make any inroads since starting to work. The defecit to Yates is up to 1:32.

Gee has caught them, and passed them straight away.

Carapaz follows Gee's wheel, but Del Toro takes a little longer to respond. Is he starting to struggle?

30KM TO GO

Meanwhile Harper still leads the race, 30 seconds ahead of Verre and 5:27 ahead of Yates.

Van Aert is a few minutes ahead of Yates, it's being reported. His task will be to get to the top of the climb still ahead of him, then wait for Yates to help pace him for the rest of the stage.

The pendulim is swinging towards Yates - he's now 1:58 ahead of Del Toro, Carapaz and Gee.

Carapaz accelerates, and Gee is dropped. Del Toro can follow again, though.

It’s becoming hard to see a way for Carapaz to win this Giro from here. Even if he does succeed in eventually dropping Del Toro, he has a lot of ground to make up on Yates, and no teammates waiting up the road to help him.

Carapaz's acceleration has brought Yates' advantage down to 1:40.

Huge crowds greet Harper as he nears the top of the climb.

Gee looks like he might have been dropped for good - he's now 40 seconds behind Del Toro and Carapaz.

At long last, Harper has reached the top of the climb. He'll therefore claim this year's Cima Coppi prize.

Now Verre reaches the top, 1:40 behind. The stage is Harper's to lose.

Yates lead is 1:40 over Del Toro and Carapaz. That still makes him virtual pink, albeit by only 19 seconds. 

Whatever happens from here, what a  tuning ride by Simon Yates on this climb - the same climb where his dreams of winning the pink jersey came undone a whole eight years.

Yates crests the climbs, with a lead of 1:41. 

Carapaz is on the limit. He nearly got a corner wrong and had to slow down.

Del Toro leads Carapaz over the top of the climb. They're still 1:41 behind Yates. 

Gee is next to the top, over a minute behind Del Toro and Carapaz.

Still no sign of Van Aert as Yates descends. 

Yates is flying down this descent. He's already had a little wobble. How much risk is he willing to take?

Here's Van Aert, and Yates is on his wheel. Their lead over Del Toro and Carapaz is 1:45.

20KM TO GO

Meanwhile Harper only has 20km left to ride, and 1:40 on Verre in 2nd.

This is only a short descent. They will be climbing again soon, and the shallow earleir gradients look perfect for Van Aert. 

Carapaz is refusing to take a turn on this descent, and Del Toro isn't so happy about it. He himself has eased up the pace - which is a big risk, considering Yates' advantage.

Yates' lead has grown as a result, to 1:55. It's looking very good for the Brit!

SESTRIERE

Harper has started the final climb, 1:40 ahead of Verre.

Van Aert is doing just what he was tasked to do - his work is seeing Yates' lead grow even more, to 2:06.

The impetus has gone out of the chase between Del Toro and Carapaz. They have Kielich from the day’s break with them, and currently he’s leading.

You sense the time has come for Del Toro to fully commit to this chase, and not worry about Carapaz. Yates is his big dander now, not the Ecuadorian, and he has to bring the time gap on him, even if it makes him more vulnerable to an attack from Carapaz.

Still Yates' lead grows, to 2:20.

Del Toro's on the radio, and slowed down again. 

10KM TO GO

Meanwhile Harper still looks good for the stage win. He's 1:30 ahead of Verre. 

Del Toro is having words with Carapaz, who is shaking his head. These games are going to lose Del Toro the Giro!

This looks like it might be it! The gap to Del Toro and Carapaz and Yates has ballooned, to a whole three minutes!

Gee catches up to Del Toro and Carapaz.

It's now nearly four minutes. Game over!

Del Toro is still leading, but he doesn't look fully committed.

This is a script worthy of Hollywood. Simon Yates has always loved the Giro, and been trying to win it for years. Now, on the very climb he lost the pink jersey in 2018 when seemingly on the brink of victory, he looks set to do so with a remarkable comeback, the inverse of his collapse back then.

Still Van Aert leads Yates on the climb. They've picked up a few more stragglers from the day's break.

Del Toro is nearly five minutes behind. It does seem as though he's thrown in the towel.

Del Toro, Carapaz and Gee have been joined by several other riders from behind. It's Chris Hamilton of PicnicPostNL who's doing the work, for Max Poole.

That's it for Van Aert, who swings off. His turn has indeed swung this Giro towards Yates - chapeau.

5KM TO GO

Only 5km left for Harper, who is 1:50 ahead of Verre, and 3:19 ahead of Yates.

Del Toro now has some teammates with him, Majka and McNulty having bridged up to them. They’re now working for him - but it’s too little too late. 

Incidentally, Caruso is also in the pink jersey group, which means he’ll hold on to 5th on GC. As is  Pellizzari, but not Bernal, meaning the Italian stands to rise to 6th.

This was Simon Yates on the gravel part of the climb, riding his way to Giro glory.

As brilliant as this has been by Yates, UAE Team Emirates-XRG have really dropped the ball. Their first mistake was in not having a satellite man up the road, as Visma did with Van Aert.And it’s hard to know what they’re thinking was in instructing Del Toro not to pace when Yates’ lead was growing to a dangerous amount.

As for Carapaz, he tried time and time again to drop Del Toro, but didn’t have the legs. He was willing to risk his second-place on GC in order to try and win it, by coaxing Del Toro to do the work, and does indeed look set to lose it, and settle for third-place instead. 

Only 2km left for Harper. Amid all this GC drama, his achievement in winning such a hard stage should not be overlooked.

Action in the pink jersey group, as Caruso attacks. 

Gee has gone with him.

Carapaz has to be careful - if he loses 1:44 to Gee, he’ll lose his podium spot to him. 

Harper's into the final and nearing the finish.

Harper wipes away some tears as he enters the final few hundred metres.

HARPER WINS THE STAGE

Victory for Chris Harper! 

That's Jayco's second at this Giro, following Luke Plapp's earlier success. 

Here comes Simon Yates, he's near the finish.

This is the biggest moment of his career. 

Verre is ahead of him and will seal second place, but all eyes are on Yates.

Yates crosses the finish line, to take third on the stage - and first in the overall!

Yates is in tears as he hugs team staff at the finish, surronded by the press.

Other riders have finished - Garofoli in 4th, Rochas in 5th. But no sign of the pink jersey group, who are miles behind.

The pink jersey has thinned out - it contrains just Del Toro, Carapaz, Gee, Caruso,  Pellizzari and McNulty.

McNulty is controlling the group.

They're nearing the finish now, at last.

Del Toro sprints out of the group, as they cross the finish.

That means Del Toro is now 2nd on GC, and Carapaz 3rd.

Now Van Aert finishes, just behind the GC group. Yet again, he has played a huge role in helping a teammate win a Grand Tour.

What a jaw-dropping stage that was, in what has been a consistently jaw-dropping Giro - surely one of the best Grand Tours in living memory?

Yates lead on GC is a huge 3:56 on Del Toro in second.What was shaping up to be one of the closest editions of the Giro in recent times in instead one of the biggest - but not the less exciting for it.

The only other changes in the top ten aside from Yates leapfrogging up to first is  Pellizzari and Bernal swapping places in 6th and 7th, and McNulty and Storer the same in 9th and 10th.

Del Toro has put a brave face on at the finish, but this loss, having held the pink jersey for so long, must hurt. 

Simon Yates is on the podium receiving his pink jersey - the first time he has worn it since losing it on the Finestre in 2018.

Here was Yates, Carapaz and Del Toro together on the lower slopes of the Colle delle Finestre.

Yates then went clear from the others, after putting in multiple attacks. 

From there, Yates soloed all the way to the finish, to take the pink jersey. 

In hindsight, Simon Yates has ridden a perfect Giro. He avoided incident and time loss during the first two weeks to move up into the top three overall without anyone really noticing him, while the attritional nature of the race spelt the end of many of his rivals' hopes. And he left it until today's deceivie stage to make his move - and he made it stick, in the most spectacular fashion.

Thanks for joining us today, for a stage that will be remembered and talked about for years to come. The Giro’s not over yet - there’s still the finale in Rome tomorrow to complete - but overall victory is virtually Simon Yates’. Be sure to join us again for his victory lap of the capital.