Overall winner Simon Yates rolled into the finish line and cheered for his first success on the tour of Italy. In a exhausting final sprint, teammate Olav Kooij had the best legs and also celebrated the day’s victory.
Daily victory and overall victory – the team Visma -Lease A Bike was able to look forward to twice in Rome. The British Simon Yates won the Giro d’Italia for the first time and after Vuelta a Espana 2018 the second big tour of his career. “I am slowly realizing what a great moment in my career. I am incredibly proud, that was great three weeks“, said Yates after the entrance to the finish. Isaac del Toro from the Pogacar team UAE Team Emirates.
Just like at the Tour de France, nothing changes at the top of the overall ranking on the day of the final stage. The almost 143 kilometers around Rome still promised enough action through a final mass sprint. None of the drivers, but the freshly crowned Pope Leo XIV, provided the first highlight before the start.
The Pope shakes overall winner Simon Yates
The first kilometers rolled through the Italian capital in a good mood. In addition to the title in the overall ranking, the sprint rating was already decided. The Dane Mads Pedersen secured that Maglia Ciclamino Sovereign in front of Olav Kooij from the Visma Lease A Bike. The Dutch team of Kooij and overall winner Yates was also that the pace prelier and led the entire field through the alleys of Rome at around 38 km/h.
Convention adhered to – hepburn with first attack
All teams followed the agreement to attack only when the Peleton crossed the finish line for the second time. Then there was a quick end to tactics, the beginning of Michael Hepburn from the Jayco Alula team. The 33-year-old Australian managed to distance himself from the main field, behind it more drivers fought to get into the group of the day.
67 kilometers before the end, five other outliers opened on Hepburn. As a result, the sextet consistently kept the distance of almost 20 seconds. Clearly too little to keep the sprinter teams up to the end. Meanwhile, Josef Cerny won the last intermediate sprint at this year’s tour of Italy without much resistance. No more than a marginal note, the first five places in the fight for that Maglia Ciclamino were already fixed.
Combat Cerny caught up six kilometers before the end
The more faster pace on the slightly rising target stretch gradually thinned out the top group, so that only three drivers were left twelve kilometers before the end. The trio Alessandro Verre, Enzo Paleni and Josef Cerny tried to keep the main field at a distance with all the strength, while the position fights of the sprinter in the peloton already started.
Olav Kooij celebrated the sprint success on the 21st stage in Rome
The Lidl Trek team around Sprint winner Mads Pedersen was largely back and left Alpecin-Deceuninck the leadership position, behind it lurked Team Visma-Lease a bike. The again strong Wout van Aert, the team -mate Yates helped to the overall victory, heralded the target sprint and brought Sprinter Olav Kooij to a great position. The 23-year-old Dutch took the lead a few meters before the finish line and cheered for his second stage victory at the Giro 2025.