Racing champion Scaroni clinches victory in Alps; Roglic withdraws from Giro d'Italia competition
In the Giro d'Italia 2025, several noteworthy events unfolded during the challenging 203-kilometer stage from Piazzola sul Brenta to San Valentino.
Primoz Roglic, the former winner and pre-race favorite, ended his troubled Giro with an abandonment, marking his fourth crash in the race. Richard Carapaz, another former Giro winner and Olympic road race champion, managed to persevere despite also being involved in a crash.
Two Italian riders, Dario Scaroni and Lorenzo Fortunato, the survivors of a long breakaway, crossed the finish line together, with Scaroni taking the victory. Scaroni became the first Italian to win a stage in this year's Giro, while Fortunato strengthened his hold on the king of the mountains classification.
Carapaz, Gee, and Yates launched late attacks in the race's latter stages, but Del Toro responded to them all. Carapaz, despite his efforts, saw his overall lead drop to 26 seconds behind Yates and 31 seconds behind Carapaz.
Carapaz, who has struggled in recent seasons due to health issues and sporadic setbacks, expressed his determination to continue fighting. "I haven't been healthy the past few years, as well as bad luck with crashes and the like. I just wanted to give it a try again, I'm here to fight and I'm never going to give up," he said.
Yates, too, expressed satisfaction with his progress, commenting, "Things are looking positive, and luckily I had good legs today."
The day saw several unfortunate incidents, as two other riders, Josh Tarling of Ineos and Alessio Martinelli of Astana, were withdrawn due to crashes. Martinelli's crash involved a slip across a wet road during a descent. He was later reported to have sustained only minor injuries to his chin and right buttock, but was in stable condition.
Egan Bernal of Ineos also encountered a setback, crashing on a descent due to a rain jacket reportedly tangling in his wheel. Nevertheless, Bernal managed to climb back to sixth overall by the end of the stage.
The upcoming stages promise no respite, with Wednesday's 155-kilometer run from San Michele all'Adige to Bormio rated three out of five for difficulty. The final two stages, on Friday and Saturday, offer a string of challenging climbs that will likely determine the overall winner, who will then enjoy a triumphant entry into Rome for the race's conclusion.
In the midst of the challenging Giro d'Italia 2025, Richard Carapaz, a former Giro winner and Olympic road race champion, showed his resilience by continuing despite health issues, multiple crashes, and expressed his determination to fight for victory. Despite France not being directly mentioned, it can be indirectly connected to Carapaz's health issues as he might have sought medical attention in the country. Furthermore, as the race progresses to Bormio, a town in the Italian Alps, it can be inferred that sports, particularly cycling, and health are crucial aspects in the Giro d'Italia 2025, given the challenging terrain and physical demands of the race.
