Key events
“Once the parcours was released I always had it in the back of my mind that maybe I could come here and close the chapter,” Yates told TNT Sports yesterday, referring to his painful experience on the Colle delle Finestre in 2018. “Maybe not to take the pink jersey and the race but at least win the stage win or something.
“To try and show myself, the way I know I can do, and to pull it off – I really didn’t believe it. I have to thank the guys, the team. They believed in me and even during the stage they were saying ‘just give it a try’ and I did it in the end.
“I’m not really an emotional person but even coming over the finish line I couldn’t hold back the tears. It’s something I’ve worked towards throughout my career, year after year, and I’ve had a lot of setbacks. I’ve finally managed to pull it off.”
Preamble
It doesn’t matter where Saturday’s Stage 20 ranks in the pantheon of historic grand tour drama. Comparison being the thief of joy and all that. All we need worry about is that Simon Yates, of Team Visma–Lease A Bike, is about to win the Giro d’Italia after his astonishing climbing performance yesterday. All Yates needs to worry about, meanwhile, is crossing the finish line in one piece, in his shiny new maglia rosa, with his Visma-Lease A Bike teammates in tow.
Yates has been on the road in this gruelling race for 79 hours, 18 minutes and 42 seconds. Personally I have watched a grand total of zero seconds of that time, so I’m coming to this distinctly freddo. “>Feel free to email me with a concise summary of what’s happened up to this point, so I can subsquently pretend to know what I’m talking about.
As for yesterday’s excitement, you can read Tom Bassam’s excellent report here:
Stage 21 start time: 2pm BST
