Richard Carapaz takes a giant step towards winning the Giro and tightens the overall standings

Disastrous day for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the first major high mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia 2025, where Juan Ayuso lost all his chances for the general classification and Isaac del Toro yielded to his closest rivals. Although he managed to save the pink jersey, the general classification remains even tighter with three stages remaining. The stage was won by the breakaway, where XDS-Astana also gave another tremendous boost to their chances of obtaining a World Tour license with the double victory of Scaroni and Fortunato.

The first big stage of the Giro d'Italia does not disappoint, leaving the classification even more open

A tremendous battle took place on stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia, which marked the beginning of the final week of the race with a tough high mountain stage covering 203 kilometers and ascending 4,900 meters of elevation gain across the Carbonare, Candriai, Santa Barbara, and the final climb to Passo San Valentino, all linked without much respite after a practically flat first part of the stage.

The initial part led to the formation of a large breakaway group with top names such as Pello Bilbao, Fortunato, Scaroni, Wout van Aert, Xabier Mikel Azparren, Davi Gaudu, Dries de Bondt... The high level of the breakaway and the controlled pace of UAE Team Emirates-XRG caused the time gap to increase, practically ensuring that the stage victory would be contested among them.

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Things started to unfold on the slopes of the second climb when Juan Ayuso struggled and lost contact with the favorites group. Before that, another piece of news of the day was when Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe was left without their leader after Primoz Roglic crashed again and decided to abandon the Giro d'Italia. Egan Bernal also suffered a crash on the descent of the second climb of Candriai, fortunately without apparent consequences.

However, the real action began on the slopes of Santa Barbara, where EF Education-EasyPost set a high pace right from the start of the climb. The same intensity was seen in the breakaway, with Lorenzo Fortunato showcasing his strength, almost securing the blue jersey for the mountain classification and thinning out the breakaway group.

The pace set by the American team started to take its toll, and one of the first to crack was Juan Ayuso, who quickly began to lose time at a rate that indicated both his weakness and the end of his chances for a good position in the general classification on those slopes. UAE Team Emirates-XRG did not send any teammates back to support him, indicating that they were likely aware of his situation before the stage started, hence the moderate pace that allowed the breakaway to gain a significant advantage. Egan Bernal also struggled in the final part of the climb but managed to maintain a good pace to almost reach the summit.

From there, the riders faced the final ascent to San Valentino. Among the breakaway riders, the Swiss rider Tudor Yannis Voissard had stood out in the previous terrain with the intention to surprise. However, the strongest riders of the day were clearly from XDS-Astana. Scaroni attacked from the group, chasing down the leaders with Cepeda and his teammate Fortunato close behind. They quickly caught the Swiss rider and dropped him. The Italians did not hesitate in the 2-on-1 situation. Scaroni attacked while Fortunato stayed on the wheel of the Movistar rider until he cracked, allowing the mountain classification leader to go after his teammate for a double victory, which is more than just a stage win but almost a guarantee that XDS-Astana will have a spot among the top 18 teams in the World Tour in the next three years.

Meanwhile, at the back, Wout van Aert, who had been dropping back, was caught by the main group at the start of the climb and immediately showed glimpses of the Wout who was a key player in the Tours of Vingegaard with a punishing pace. Perhaps he lacked more endurance in his effort, but it was enough for Simon Yates to launch an attack, only countered by Richard Carapaz and Isaac del Toro.

The British rider eased off, allowing the other favorites to catch up, which Derek Gee took advantage of to attack and gain a few hundred meters as no one responded. Seeing the gap widening, Simon Yates returned to the front of the group and set a hard pace until the unexpected happened. Richard Carapaz launched a powerful attack, living up to his nickname of La Locomotora del Carchi, and surprisingly, Isaac del Toro, for the first time in this Giro d'Italia, couldn't close the gap.

The gap quickly grew, and despite initially leaving Del Toro to chase, Simon Yates had to take the lead to protect his own position. However, Del Toro was struggling, and the pace did not allow him to close the gap, but rather just maintain the difference. Eventually, Storer caught up from behind. In these situations, a slight increase in pace was the final blow for Del Toro, who also lost the wheel of Yates and Storer, and was caught by Egan Bernal, who, despite not having his best day, continued to fight.

Meanwhile, at the finish line, the two riders from XDS-Astana crossed the line hand in hand, a sight that every team desires to have in their portfolio, with Scaroni taking the final victory. Behind them, the time gaps continued to grow, raising the question of whether Richard Carapaz would be able to take the overall lead.

The Ecuadorian came close, just 31 seconds behind. Adam Yates also benefited, saving his second place in the general classification and now trailing Isaac del Toro by only 26 seconds. Derek Gee also put himself in a good position, just over a minute and a half behind, with three challenging stages still to come.

Stage 16 Classification

1. Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) 5h35'05"
2. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana) +00"
3. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +55"
4. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) +1'10"
5. Derek Gee (Israel-PremierTech) +1'23"
6. Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Movistar) +1'43"
7. Michael Storer (Tudor) +1'52"
8. Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1'52"
9. Gijs Leemreize (Picnic-PostNL) +2'19"
10. Yannis Voisard (Tudor) +2'31"

General Classification

1. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 61h31'56"
2. Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) +26"
3. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) +31"
4. Derek Gee (Israel-PremierTech) +1'31"
5. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious) +2'40"
6. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) +3'23"
7. Michael Storer (Tudor) +3'31"
8. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) +4'07"
9. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +4'36"
10. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +5'08"