Photo gallery: A mind-blowing final week of the 2018 Giro d'Italia

Even a few days on, it seems scarcely believable that Chris Froome (Sky) won the Giro d’Italia. He looked out of sorts for most of the race and was more than three minutes down coming into stage 19. As we wrote after stage 9, when he was only 2:27 down, “it would be a miracle were he to win the Giro from here.”

By now we all know what happened on stage 19 to Bardonecchia. Froome put in the greatest single ride of his career and one of the great Grand Tour performances, setting off solo with 80km to go, pulling back more than three minutes, and moving into the overall lead. It was a spectacular comeback and one that will remain in the collective memory for many years to come.

The photos below tell the story of the final ‘week’ of the 2018 Giro d’Italia, from the stage 16 ITT through to the final stage in Rome. Follow the links for galleries from stages 1-9 and stages 10-15.

: A moment of quiet introspection for the maglia rosa. He went into the stage 16 ITT 2:11 ahead of Dumoulin but knew he’d lose time.

: Dumoulin was the rider to beat …

: … but he wasn’t quite at his world-beating best.

: Rohan Dennis, on the other hand, was on a great ride. He finished the 34.2km ITT in 40 minutes flat, enough to win the stage.

: Yates finished 1:37 behind Dennis …

: … and dropped 1:15 to Dumoulin, reducing his overall lead to inside one minute.

: Dumoulin was third on the stage, but moved to within striking distance of the maglia rosa.

: A stage win for Rohan Dennis to go with his four days in pink earlier in the race.

: Stage 17 began in the beautiful town of Riva del Garda.

: Thibaut Pinot wasn’t impressed by the scenery, though.

: Froome: “I’m going to attack solo with 80km to go on stage 19, finish more than three minutes ahead of Dumoulin and take the maglia rosa.”
Vegni: “Uh huh, sure you are, Chris.”

: It was raining at the finish in Iseo.

: The celebrations started early from Viviani’s lead-out train …

: … as the Italian blasted to his fourth stage victory of the race ahead of Sam Bennett.

: Tough conditions for riders and photographers alike.

: The weather was better to begin stage 18.

: The break was let go on the way to Prato Nevoso, and it was Max Schachmann and Mattia Cattaneo that got away late (with Ruben Plaza not far behind).

: Schachmann attacked late to take a terrific stage win, confirming the great potential he’s shown so far this season.

: The group of GC favourites started coming through nearly 11 minutes behind Schachmann.

: Chaves lost a bunch more time, finishing more than 10 minutes down on the GC favourites.

: Pozzovivo, Dumoulin and Froome race for the line, 11:03 behind Schachmann. Yates was dropped late, and lost 28 seconds on Dumoulin, slashing his overall lead to the same amount.

: Stage 19 began in Venaria Reale, with crowds of all ages in attendance.

: With 80km to go, and with Simon Yates dropped, Froome attacked solo.

: Up the gravel of the Colle delle Finestre he went …

: … opening up a gap over all his rivals, while ‘enjoying’ some roadside support.

: Froome had started the day in fourth place, 3:22 behind Yates and, crucially, 2:54 behind Dumoulin.

: Colle delle Finestre or a production still from the final season of Game of Thrones?

: The worst is yet to come, Thibaut.

: While Froome was riding away to a famous victory, Yates was going backwards. He’d drop nearly 39 minutes by day’s end.

: Newspaper down the jersey. Classic.

: Here’s a familiar face. Stuart O’Grady is in tour guide mode these days.

: As Froome gained more time, Dumoulin tried to work with Groupama-FDJ to limit his losses.

: “Froome’s how far up the road?!”

: Froome winning stage 19 with an 80km solo move and moving into the maglia rosa.

: A horrific day for Simon Yates after leading the Giro for 13 days. The 25-year-old would end the Giro in 21st, 1:15:11 behind the lead.

: Froome: “I told you.”

: Caption contest. Leave your entry in the comments. Winner receives upvotes.

: Stage 20 – the final day to decide the GC.

: Just a little bit pretty.

: Ditto.

: After taking pink, Froome had one day in the mountains to defend it.

: A break got up the road, featuring Mikel Nieve.

: Nieve broke clear of his companions to win the stage solo by an impressive 2:17.

: Back in the GC group, Froome had to resist several attacks from Tom Dumoulin.

: He was able to do so, locking up his first Giro win.

: Thibaut Pinot started the day in third place but after suffering with a fever, he dropped more than 45 minutes. He was hospitalised that night and didn’t start the final stage.