And so the 2019 Giro d’Italia is complete. Richard Carapaz (Movistar) is the first Ecuadorian to win a Grand Tour and in the end he did it easily. But the final week of the 2019 Giro was about more than Carapaz securing his historic victory. It was also about Esteban Chaves’ triumphant return to the winners’ list, the Colombian winning stage 19 from the breakaway after nearly a year spent battling Epstein-Barr virus (and after coming so close a few days earlier). It was also about the filthy weather on the Mortirolo on stage 16, a day we covered with a dedicated gallery last week.
So while the final-week GC battle mightn’t have been explosive as it was last year, the final stanza of this year’s Giro still had plenty to keep us interested. The gallery below showcases some of the best moments from the final week of the 2019 Giro, courtesy of Jered and Ashley Gruber, Kristof Ramon and Cor Vos.
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- The first day after the second rest day, stage 16, was a horribly wet one that featured a soggy and freezing ascent (and descent!) of the Mortirolo.
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- Pre-Giro favourite Primoz Roglic lost some time that day.
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- KOM leader Guilio Ciccone took out the stage from the breakaway, just ahead of Jan Hirt.
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- Stage 17 offered slightly better weather. Simon Yates didn’t have the Giro he was after — he ended up in eighth overall.
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- Nans Peters was in the break and attacked late.
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- Esteban Chaves was in the same break and set off in pursuit.
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- Peters had done more than enough though …
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- … taking his first pro victory by more than 90 seconds ahead of Chaves.
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- By Giro’s end Rafal Majka had moved up to sixth overall: yet another Grand Tour top 10 for the Polish climber.
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- Stage 18 would end up being another day for the breakaway, with Damiano Cima (at the front here) going on to take victory.
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- The breakaway only just survived. Cima was first across the line just ahead of sprinter Pascal Ackermann from the peloton.
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- Huge crowds turned out on the Passo di San Boldo on stage 19.
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- Chaves was in the breakaway again. He attacked multiple times on the final climb …
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- … and eventually got away on his own. He managed to hold on to win by 10 seconds ahead of his breakaway companions.
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- It wasn’t hard to see how much the victory meant to the effusive Colombian.
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- Stage 20 — the final day in the mountains.
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- Pello Bilbao was in the day’s breakaway (in the lead here) but still had the strength later to stay with the GC favourites when they swept through.
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- Again Roglic lost time on his GC rivals, dropping from third to fourth overall. He moved back up onto the podium in the following day’s time trial, however.
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- Bilbao was able to take the sprint from a reduced elite lead group at day’s end. It was the Basque rider’s second stage win of this year’s Giro.
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- The Ecuadorian fans were out in force on the final stage to watch Richard Carapaz defend pink.
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- The race leader put in a strong enough time trial to win the Giro by over a minute.
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- American Chad Haga took out the stage win ahead of Victor Campenaerts. It was Haga’s first WorldTour victory.
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- Carapaz is the first Ecuadorian to win the Giro or any Grand Tour. The 26-year-old was clearly the strongest climber in this year’s race and is a deserving winner of the Trofeo Senza Fine.
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- Vincenzo Nibali attacked relentlessly in the mountains but wasn’t able to break Carapaz. The Italian had to settle for second overall, while Roglic finished up third.
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