Britain's Simon Yates wins first Giro d'Italia title in Rome
1 June 2025, 19:24 | Updated: 1 June 2025, 19:29
Britain's Simon Yates has secured his first Giro d'Italia title by safely crossing the line on the final stage in Rome.
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British cyclist Simon Yates has sealed his first Giro d'Italia win in a "defining moment of [his] career".
The Bury-born rider, 32, took the leader's pink jersey for the first time in the race on Saturday's stage 20 with a sublime attack on the penultimate climb, having started the day in third.
It is his sixth attempt at winning the Giro.
Yates took part in a processional ride around the capital alongside his Visma-Lease a Bike team-mates to mark the victory, after a meeting with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican.
Yates' team-mate Olav Kooij sprinted to his second stage win of the Giro and Visma's third overall, capping a superb race for the Dutch outfit.
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Yates won the title by three minutes 56 seconds over Mexico's Isaac del Toro, with Ecuador's Richard Carapaz 47 seconds further back in third.
Del Toro, 21, won the white jersey for best young rider, Denmark's Mads Pedersen claimed the mauve points classification jersey and Italy's Lorenzo Fortunato took the blue mountains classification jersey.
It is Yates' second Grand Tour title following his victory in the 2018 Vuelta a Espana.
It was that same year that Yates suffered heartbreak at the Giro d'Italia in Rome, when he led the race for 13 days only to be left behind by fellow Brit Chris Froome he continued past ahead of him in a 50-mile solo breakaway.
Yates is only the second British men's cyclist to win multiple Grand Tours after Froome, who won seven.
Yates is the third British rider to win the Giro, after Froome in 2018 and Tao Geoghegan Hart in 2020.
Yates returned to the Giro in search of victory over the next four consecutive years but fell short, his best finish third place in 2021.
Before his Giro win, Yates took a two-year break from the race, during which he finished a career-high fourth in the 2023 Tour de France.
He is set to ride this year's Tour in support of team-mate Jonas Vingegaard, who is targeting a third Tour title.This is Yates' first season riding for Dutch outfit Visma, having previously spent all of his professional career with Australian team Jayco–AlUla.
The race entered the Vatican during the neutralised section before the official start, with Yates and the three other classification winners shaking the Pope's hand before the pontiff addressed the peloton.
"You are role models for young people all over the world," he said. "Congratulations to all of you. May you know that you are always welcome here in the Vatican."
