Prodhomme had already finished fifth in two stages from escape groups and won a stage of the Tour of the Alps in preparation. The penultimate mountain stage of the Giro was then his. The Frenchman was one of the first three attackers alongside Georg Steinhauser (EF Education - EasyPost) right at the start of the 166 kilometres between Biella and Champoluc, which hosted a stage arrival of the Giro for the first time. He stayed in front as the breakaway thinned out over three difficult passes, attacked his last companions on the fourth climb and was ultimately the only one left in front of the group of favourites over the final climb and into the finish.

"I didn't want to race for the overall classification, I wanted to win a stage," said Prodhomme in the winner's interview. "I've been waiting a long time for this victory. I won my first race three weeks ago. But to win the WorldTour at the Giro d'Italia makes me very happy. It's a wonderful day. Our breakaways didn't have much of a lead. When I followed the first attacks, I didn't feel good. My legs were stiff on the first climb. I felt better on the bike from kilometre to kilometre. At the Col de Joux I realised that I had to take risks, otherwise we wouldn't get any further. I finished fifth on two stages because I didn't take any risks. Today I decided to go for the win. The result is very nice for me.

Top 10 almost unchanged

Just under a minute behind Prodhomme, Del Toro finished the stage in second place. The Mexican was once again the only one who was able to follow an attack by Carapaz. He thus defended his pink jersey once again ahead of the last major stage on the 20th stage. With two more bonus seconds, he extended his lead over the Ecuadorian to 43 seconds. The remaining riders in the classification took a little more time, reaching the finish line in a group and 24 seconds later.

Simon Yates (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) is now in third place, 1:21 minutes behind Derek Gee (Israel - Premier Tech) and Damiano Caruso (Bahrain - Victorious). The latter's team-mate and former captain Antonio Tiberi was part of the breakaway, made it to the finish with the GC pros and climbed back up a little to 12th place in the overall standings. Del Toro helper Adam Yates, on the other hand, lost four places, dropping out of the top 10. However, he has been replaced by another UAE rider in BRandon McNulty.

German champion Brenner has to give up

The big battle for the overall victory is thus postponed until the last chance in Sestrière, when the Colle de Finestre with its gravel passages has to be crossed in addition to the final climb. the 19th stage remained much quieter overall than generally expected.

The best German was once again Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) in sixteenth place, moving him up to 21st place in the overall standings. The prospect of making it into the top 20 on the final difficult stage is certainly there. However, he will have to do without the support of Marco Brenner. The German champion initially made it into the escape group, but then had to abandon.

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How the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2025 went

As the race went straight into the mountains almost immediately after the start, the climbers were also in demand early on. Steinhauser, Prodhomme, Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Mattia Cattaneo (Soudal Quick-Step) broke away on the first climb to the 3rd category classification. However, their lead over the peloton was only ever around 30 seconds. Only after the intermediate sprint after almost 40 kilometres did a large chasing group of around 30 riders break away from the peloton at the foot of the Col Tzecore (1st category).

There were still 23 men left at the top. Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team) took the points and kept his team-mate Lorenzo Fortunato behind him. The peloton, in which it was quite quiet, arrived at the top two and a half minutes later. After the subsequent descent and the small intermediate valley at the foot of the Col Saint-Pantaléon (1st category), it was a good minute more.

Prodhomme goes down the Col de Joux

In the middle of the climb, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe took over the pace in the peloton, whereupon the gap shrank again. Nine kilometres before the summit, the breakaway regrouped. Steinhauser was joined by former Bahrain Victorious captain Antonio Tiberi and his team-mate Pello Bilbao, as well as Visma man Lemmen and Del Toro helper Igor Arrieta, leaving a total of ten pros.

By the time they reached the top, the front had thinned out again. Prodhomme and Carlos Verona (Lidl - Trek) arrived alone at the top, but Tiberi and Arrieta only had a small gap and quickly caught up again. By the end of the descent, Lemmen, Bilbao and Louis Meintjes (Intermarché - Wanty) were also back. The favourites were three minutes back.

At the start of the Col de Joux (1st category), Verona, Prodhomme and Tiberi attacked each other, with the latter being the first not to be able to keep up the pace. Five kilometres before the summit, the favourites had swallowed up both Tiberi and Verona, making Prodhomme the last escapee with a one-minute lead.

Carapaz attacks, Del Toro counters

Just under a kilometre before the crest, Carapaz tried to attack again. But Del Toro and Yates were immediately on his rear wheel, so the Ecuadorian took off again. Meanwhile, Prodhomme made it into the descent with 60 seconds and took a few more seconds into the final, nine-kilometre-long climb because the controlling UAE team slowed down on the descent.

Only two kilometres before the mountain classification did Carapaz attack again, only the man in pink went with him. The duo gained 25 seconds on the chasers, but Prodhomme could no longer be jeopardised. The situation did not change until the finish. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) crashed there in the last corner because he touched the kerb. He lost skin, but no time.