Richard Carapaz announced himself as a serious general classification contender with a thrilling victory on stage 11 of the 2025 Giro d’Italia, his first victory at the race since sealing the maglia rosa in 2019.
Another tough outing in the Apennines saw a further shakeup of the general classification as the pink jersey of Isaac del Toro gained another six seconds on most of his rivals, including teammate Juan Ayuso, by winning a sprint for second place and bonus seconds on the line in Castelnovo ne’ Monti.
The stage featured 3,850m of elevation and gain and a behemoth of a climb in the category one Alpe San Pellegrino, which last featured in the Giro 25 years ago.
A breakaway escaped on the climb but was drawn back in a breathless finale to a relentlessly fast stage, setting the scene for a GC fight in the final 10km, when Carapaz made an audacious late attack, holding off his rivals to win the stage and move from ninth to sixth place in the overall standings.
Follow all the action with The Independent’s live blog below:
Giro d'Italia stage 11 Live
- Giro continues with hilly Stage 11, 186km from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne' Monti
- Route map and profile on another day of opportunity for a breakaway
- Primoz Roglic made up time on stage 10's time trial but still has serious work to do
- Richard Carapaz launches late attack to ignite GC battle (8km to go)
- Carapaz seals first Giro stage win since 2019 with audacious late attack
Del Toro keeps pink
16:54 , Flo Clifford
Jubilation for EF
16:48 , Flo Clifford
'Amazing' win - Richard Carapaz
16:42 , Flo CliffordFormer Giro winner and now a four-time Giro stage winner Carapaz is shaking his head in disbelief and delight.
“For me it’s really... I don’t know. It’s amazing for me, my team. Today I had the confidence, my team work everyday, and the victory is special for my team and my career. After three years in the Giro [when he lost the overall lead to Jai Hindley], I remember this. Now I have the legs. I take the opportunity for the next stage.
“Today is a hard day for everyone, for the GC riders it’s super hard. But for me in the last moment I felt I had the legs. I tried [to attack] one time and [it was enough].”
Asked about his goal of winning the Giro, he says, “The next week is super hard, a lot of mountains, but I think I have a good opportunity, me and my team, and objectives in the next week.”
General classification after stage 11
16:36 , Flo Clifford1) Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in 38:47:01
2) Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +31”
3) Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) +1’07”
4) Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1’09”
5) Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +1’24”
6) Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) +1’56”
7) Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +2’09”
8) Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2’16”
9) Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2’33”
Internal politics at UAE
16:30 , Flo CliffordInteresting watching the response to Carapaz’s attack again now. Del Toro goes immediately to close it down, but Ayuso sits back. Waiting for Roglic to respond maybe, putting the onus on him? Or was he spent?
Either way there were enough other GC riders to bring the bunch back together, minus Carapaz. Then at the finish line del Toro accelerated to take the bonus seconds, with Ayuso nowhere in sight, and the Mexican glanced over his shoulder as he crossed the line, almost as if looking for his teammate.
Is Ayuso biding his time for the tough, backloaded final week?
GC movers and shakers
16:24 , Flo CliffordCarapaz goes from 2’10” down on del Toro to 1’56” and leapfrogs Brandon McNulty, Giulio Ciccone and Adam Yates for sixth place.
Everyone lost time to del Toro - six seconds for most of the top 10 - but Adam Yates was the worst hit, losing 27 seconds.
Carapaz 'unbelievably strong' - Pidcock
16:18 , Flo CliffordTom Pidcock was fourth today, another near-miss, but another good ride after getting spat out the back on the Alpe. He chats to TNT Sports.
“When we saw the race was in reach and Trek started to ride Mark [Donovan] also started to ride. I owe it to Mark and Damo [Damien Howson], they helped me back up after I got dropped on that long climb and we went for the stage. But Carapaz was unbelievably strong there. At the top we were pacing it but the way Carapaz went up that climb was pretty impressive.
“That was tough. It was one of those days where now you’ve got three non-GC days were everyone goes all-in, or sees the chance that it could be a full GC day even though most likely it would have been a breakaway day. But it was hard enough that it turned into a GC day.”
Richard Carapaz wins stage 11
16:12 , Flo CliffordMatt Stephens on TNT Sports comms calls it a “swashbuckling” win for the Ecuadorian, which feels accurate. It’s his first win since stage 17 at the Tour de France last summer.
An audacious move, but it really paid off.
Stage 11 results
16:08 , Flo Clifford1) Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost), in 4:35:20
2) Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG)
3) Giulio Ciccone (Lidl - Trek)
4) Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team)
5) Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers)
6) Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain - Victorious)
7) Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates - XRG)
8) Einer Rubio (Movistar)
9) Derek Gee (Israel - Premier Tech)
10) Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana Team), all +10”
Del Toro wins sprint for second
16:04 , Flo CliffordReplays of the sprint for the bonus seconds show that Pidcock attacked first, Bernal following, but del Toro was positioned beautifully going into the final corner and was never really challenged in that final.
Max Poole loses time
16:02 , Flo CliffordA group of lesser GC contenders including Chris Harper and Max Poole cross the line around 1:20 back. Disappointing for Poole, who improved his time deficit with a good time trial yesterday.
Del Toro wins fight for bonus seconds
16:01 , Flo CliffordThe maglia rosa accelerates and extends his lead to 31 seconds over Ayuso with six bonus seconds, while Giulio Ciccone takes four for third place, ahead of Tom Pidcock.
Richard Carapaz wins stage 11!
16:00 , Flo CliffordA hugely aggressive, thrilling move by EF pays off and Richard Carapaz has his first stage win at the Giro since 2019, when he won the overall!
He’s back at his best.
Carapaz heading for stage win (500m to go)
15:59 , Flo CliffordAdam Yates leads del Toro up this climb. No one wants to concede any time to Carapaz and at this rate they’ll barely concede any seconds at all.
Carapaz still leads (1.8km to go)
15:58 , Flo CliffordThere’s a brief split at the front of the bunch but Caruso closes it to hop onto teammate Tiberi’s wheel. Ciccone, Simon Yates, Roglic are all there too, as well as del Toro and Ayuso.
Carapaz has lost a little bit of his gap, down to 21 seconds, but there’s only 2km left for him to hold on, and the terrain goes uphill again now. McNulty swings off for UAE after a heroic turn.
Carapaz hunting stage victory (3km to go)
15:56 , Flo CliffordCarapaz takes the mountain points at Pietra di Bismantova but it’s the stage win he wants. A reminder that he’s the 2019 Giro champion, and he nearly won the race in 2022 too.
Bonus seconds are on offer at the line and the terrain suits him, with another ramp with 2km to go, hitting a maximum of 8%, and a rise to the finish too.
The rain is falling now. 26 seconds back to the bunch.
Carapaz moves up the virtual GC (6km to go)
15:52 , Flo CliffordRichard Carapaz is riding himself into the top five as it stands. Rafal Majka is on the front as UAE resume control, with none of the other GC contenders ready to blink yet.
33 seconds now.
Carapaz, del Toro on the move (7km to go)
15:49 , Flo CliffordCarapaz attacks and blows the whole thing together! Del Toro launches too while Damiano Caruso takes control for Bahrain as they sweep up the breakaway.
Ayuso and Roglic sit further down and just stare each other down - but it comes back together, Roglic smoothly moving back up. Looks like they were either sussing each other out or caught out position. Pellizzari comes back up for Roglic, but Carapaz is extending his advantage... 17 seconds and counting with 2.7km to go on this climb.
Breakaway in sight (9.3km to go)
15:45 , Flo CliffordThe peloton have the breakaway in sight - maybe there’s been a loss of signal or something, because this gap has dropped catastrophically in a ludicrously short period of time. Wout Poels launches off the front on the lower slopes of this 5.7km climb, but it’s way too late for that.
Lorenzo Fortunato drops back, his race is run. He’s caught by EF and it looks like Richard Carapaz is being teed up for an attack. GC battle incoming to end this breathless stage?
Approaching the final climb (10km to go)
15:42 , Flo CliffordThe riders are approaching the awe-inspiring rock face of the day’s final climb at Pietra di Bismantova, in less than a kilometre’s time. The scenery is utterly stunning; the broadcast notes that we’re passing the Triassic Gypsum formations, which date back over 200 million years.
Ineos Grenadiers now come onto the front and the gap is really falling away now, to just 28 seconds, having been out at 56 a couple of minutes ago.
Peloton strung out (15km to go)
15:37 , Flo CliffordPello Bilbao goes the wrong way round a traffic island and has to chase back on.
The gap dips below a minute for the first time. The riders are onto the valley road and the advantage is with the peloton and Lidl-Trek now.
Pedersen on the march (20km to go)
15:31 , Flo CliffordPedersen has halved the gap to the break in around 10km. A ludicrous engine on that man.
Quintana sprints for the Red Bull kilometre and wins six bonus seconds, although at more than nine minutes back it’s not going to make much impact. Fortunato is second over the little rise and they head onto the descent.
It seems Poels has a gear problem rather than a flat; he has a quick chat with his team car but is still in the front group.
Further back, Majka is trying to slow things down on this descent as Pedersen tears down it, but his plan is foiled by the other Lidl-Trek riders slotting in ahead of him.
Advantage falling (24km to go)
15:24 , Flo CliffordLidl-Trek - Pedersen almost single-handedly - are absolutely annihilating this lead. The peloton are 1:28 back with 25km to go and the catch feels inevitable. The GC teams don’t look thrilled at having to power down this descent.
Now Wout Poels has a rear flat! Jay Vine has a mechanical too.
Curtains for the breakaway? (29km to go)
15:17 , Flo CliffordWell, this is quite the change. Lidl-Trek have really slashed the breakaway’s lead to 1:50 and now Tom Pidcock’s Q36.5 team have come to the fore. The chase is on.
Fortunato adds to KOM lead (39km to go)
15:07 , Flo CliffordFortunato adds to his considerable KOM lead with another haul of maximum points at the top of Toano.
Quintana is second, perhaps eyeing a KOM challenge of his own later in the race. The terrain continues up and down from here with only one more classified climb but plenty of uncategorised ramps, including at the Red Bull sprint for bonus seconds in Villa Minozzo.
Back in the peloton, 2:48 down, both Ayuso and del Toro are tucked behind their teammates - but now Mads Pedersen comes onto the front. Do Lidl-Trek fancy this for Vacek, or Ciccone?
On the climb (43km to go)
14:53 , Flo CliffordInterviewed on TNT Sports before the stage started, Rafal Majka suggested the breakaway would go to the line today.
It sort of feels like UAE haven’t made up their minds about it, in actual fact. The peloton are 2:25 back, which is by no means an unassailable gap.
On the climb (47km to go)
14:46 , Flo CliffordUAE are still leading and still have their entire troupe present and accounted for, a far cry from Roglic’s Red Bull woes.
While they pedal up Toano here a few photos from earlier in the day.
Fortunato takes intermediate sprint points (49km to go)
14:38 , Flo CliffordNo fight among the breakaway for the second set of intermediate sprint points at Cerredolo, which Fortunato takes as he rolls over the line first.
From there it’s straight onto the category two Toano climb, the second of the day’s official climbs: 11.1km, averaging 4.9%, with maximum gradients of 10%.
Quintana in demon-descent mode (55km to go)
14:31 , Flo CliffordQuintana is absolutely haring down the descent, while the rest of his companions follow at similarly - but not quite the same - breakneck speed. He’s looking for a first Grand Tour stage win since 2019, having of course won this whole thing in 2014.
The peloton are 2:12 further back but still in contention to ruin some dreams today.
Can the breakaway make it? (64km to go)
14:22 , Flo CliffordWith 64km to go and the serious climbing down, the five escapees only have 1:45 on the peloton and UAE are firmly in control of the bunch. Are they going to make a move and try to put pressure on Roglic? Will Ayuso simply snap?
TNT Sports comms note that he refused to answer some questions in Monday’s rest day press conference, while del Toro did most of the talking. Interesting. It still feels very up in the air.
Fortunato caught (77km to go)
14:08 , Flo CliffordThings have settled a little now, it seems. Fortunato is caught on the descent as it flattens off a bit, and Plapp has latched on. He’s having a chat with the veteran Nairo Quintana, the 2014 champion.
The peloton are 1:43 back, so still perhaps a bit close for comfort, and UAE remain on the front. Roglic has a couple more teammates in this bunch now - looks like Aleotti and Pellizzari - as several riders come back on, including Pidcock, who was dropped earlier.
In terms of terrain, we’ve got a lot of downhill from now, but also several nasty steep kickers.
On the descent (83km to go)
14:00 , Flo CliffordLuke Plapp was dropped by his three companions on this technical descent but is just about making contact again. The peloton have slowed down a little bit, but not by much.
Simon Geschke, on the TNT Sports in-race motorbike, says Roglic looks pretty isolated.
Time gaps: Fortunato is around 12 seconds ahead of the chasing trio, down from 19 or so; the peloton are 1:25 back.
Fortunato wins KOM points (88km to go)
13:54 , Flo Clifford40 points for Fortunato and he almost celebrates at the top. Quintana is next over, then Bilbao, Poels and Plapp hoovering up the minor points.
Behind them the peloton is advancing on - there’s only 1:02 between them and Fortunato and just 20-30 seconds or so between the chase group and the bunch, led by Rafal Majka for the UAE pair of Ayuso and del Toro.
They’re now onto nearly 40km of very irregular, technical descending, with some plateaux and false flats in there. Fortunato’s home advantage might come into play here.
Scenery check
13:50
Bernal attacks! (94km to go)
13:43 , Flo CliffordEgan Bernal crashed in yesterday’s time trial but looks great today, launching a vicious acceleration.
Juan Ayuso shuts it down immediately with del Toro on his wheel - but where is Roglic?
Antonio Tiberi follows and bridges the gap, but that’s thinned the peloton down somewhat. Castroviejo comes onto the front for Bernal and the time gap has really dropped away - Steven Kruijswijk, from the breakaway, is caught.
Roglic is looking more and more isolated in this group as Giulio Pellizzari struggles on these gradients. Adam Yates is struggling too.
Luke Plapp attacks (95km to go)
13:40 , Flo CliffordLuke Plapp is absolutely flying. He times a move immaculately, chased down by Bilbao and Quintana, and a few seconds later goes again. He’s got a really interesting stop-start style on a climb and doesn’t look remotely tired despite those short, sharp efforts.
Wout Poels bridges across to form a thinned-down chasing group of those four.
However, Fortunato still looks well set to take the maximum points at the top of the climb, as he approaches the toughest, 19% gradients.
UAE lead the bunch (97km to go)
13:33 , Flo CliffordWe’re heading into Fortunato’s home region of Emilia-Romagna; he’s from Bologna, so no doubt will feel extra inspired today, heading closer to home roads.
Back in the bunch, 1:33 down the road, the pink jersey of del Toro gets into the wind a bit and fancies pulling, but presumably is gently told to knock it off to protect himself.
Any comparisons to Tadej Pogacar are absolutely overplayed, but he does seem to have some of that same exuberance and love of racing, compared to the more calculated style of Juan Ayuso.
Fortunato still leads (98km to go)
13:26 , Flo CliffordFortunato still has around 33 seconds on the rest of the breakaway with more than 6km still to go up this frankly epic climb. Pello Bilbao leads the tougher climbers on the front of the chase group, which is all strung out.
Fortunato attacks (102km to go)
13:18 , Flo CliffordLorenzo Fortunato, in the maglia azzurra of the KOM leader, hits out with more than 10km to go to the top of this climb. He looks to just float up this bitingly steep slopes, dragging out a 35 second lead or so. He obviously needs these points to add to his lead in the mountains classification.
UAE are really keeping the break on a tight leash: they’re now only 1:15 down. This has been an utterly breathless stage. Not sure what UAE are planning, if they fancy a stage win, or are maybe a bit concerned at how large this group is.
Huge group up the road (104km to go)
13:11 , Flo CliffordVisma-Lease a Bike gently shuffle Pedersen out the way so some of the pure climbers can set the pace, with UAE lurking only 1:40 back.
The pace is already intense enough to shave down this breakaway considerably. Dries de Bondt and Casper van Uden have been spat out the back.
There are 33 riders in this group in total and quite an eclectic mix: Pedersen, Tarling, Quintana, Fortunato, James Knox, Marco Frigo, Kevin Geniets, Georg Steinhauser, all included.
At the back of the peloton poor old David Gaudu is suffering. His GC challenge has been over for some time.
Onto the Alpe (106km to go)
13:05 , Flo CliffordThey’ve got 1:10 on the peloton, so it’s by no means certain, but this looks a good group.
UAE take control of the pace on the front of the bunch with Filippo Baroncini setting the tempo.
Full list of those riders in the breakaway incoming. Mads Pedersen is on the front in service of Mathias Vacek.
Breakaway set (108km to go)
12:59 , Flo CliffordIs this today’s breakaway set? It’s only taken them 78km to get away...
A huge chasing group is coming across to Poels and Kelderman but the peloton has knocked their efforts off. Bilbao, Steinhauser, Vacek, Pedersen, Tarling, Fortunato, and Quintana are all in there.
There’s 2.5km to go until the start of the Alpe san Pellegrino.
Attacks continuing (115km to go)
12:50 , Flo CliffordKelderman and Poels have 20 seconds or thereabouts on the bunch, secured on that climb, but this breakaway is by no means secured as more riders attack from behind - including British rider James Knox.
They’re off the descent and now onto around 12km of valley road, the approach to the serious climbing of the day, the Alpe san Pellegrino.
It’s a 13.8km climb averaging 8.8%, but with the final 3-4km averaging to 11% and even hitting 19%.
Attacks on the climb (122km to go)
12:43 , Flo CliffordWout Poels and Quentin Pacher attack. Romain Bardet latches onto the latter’s wheel, with David Gaudu and Nairo Quantana moving up too.
Wilco Kelderman is the next to respond and bridges the gap up to Poels, who has some daylight between him and the rest. The two Dutchmen have a few metres’ advantage.
They’re into the incredibly picturesque town of Barga, not that they’ll really have much time to take it in.
Split in the bunch (127km to go)
12:36 , Flo CliffordWell, that’s interesting. There’s a big split in the bunch as they approach this uncategorised climb and Isaac del Toro in the pink jersey goes into domestique mode to drag it out, with Red Bull caught out by the looks of things. Antonio Tiberi is the quickest to react and he’s straight on del Toro’s wheel.
It’s brought back, but that is the big, big problem for Red Bull. They simply do not have the strength in depth to counter UAE, who can make life difficult with four riders in the top 10.
Another unclassified climb approaching (128km to go)
12:32 , Flo CliffordWe’re now seeing a different style of rider trying to get up the road, as the rouleurs back off with the day’s behemoth of a climb coming up. Kruijswijk and Azparren were swept up after the intermediate sprint but no-one’s been able to make another move stick since then.
Mathias Vacek, Lidl-Trek’s wunderkind, is the next to come to the front. Soudal Quick-Step are active too, they’ve got Josef Cerny up there too.
There’s another unclassified climb to Barga coming up next. It’s 3.6km at an average of 5.9%. From there, there’s a short descent before the long run-up to the Alpe san Pellegrino, steadily rising until the start of the climb proper.
Mads Pedersen searching for more points
12:26 , Flo CliffordThe TNT Sports reporter on the ground at the start asks Mads Pedersen if he was stupid to pick him for the stage win today, to which he gets a resounding “yes”. “Not as stupid as you look,” the Dane grins, but it’s pretty close, is his assessment.
“Of course I want to gain some points for the ciclamino today,” he adds, but he notes that the fight for the breakaway may mean that the points pre-Alpe san Pellegrino (at Borgo a Mozzano) all escape up the road, and the remaining points come after the climb.
Pedersen has been active so far with that first sprint coming in the first 46km.
Azparren wins intermediate sprint (139km to go)
12:20 , Flo CliffordAzparren takes the maximum 12 points ahead of Kruijswijk, while another group of escapees led by Alessandro Tonelli hoover up the rest. None for the peloton and Mads Pedersen in the ciclamino gets none.
Intermediate sprint approaching (141km to go)
12:14 , Flo CliffordThe riders are absolutely flying at 54km/h, having raced for nearly an hour already.
That duo has been brought back and Azparren and Visma-Lease a Bike’s Steven Kruijswijk have taken their place.
We’re approaching the day’s first intermediate sprint, at Borgo a Mozzano.
Two riders up the road (147km to go)
12:08 , Flo CliffordTudor have Yannis Voisard and Soudal Quick-Step Mattia Cattaneo - a revelation in yesterday’s time-trial, finishing fourth - in the breakaway.
Behind them there’s another succession of attacks but it looks like no one wants to be the one to put the work in.
And the fabulous pink Giro d’Italia train returns, making its first appearance of this year’s race as it runs alongside the bunch for a bit.
On the move in Tuscany (157km to go)
11:58 , Flo CliffordWhile the riders try to sort themselves out, the camera pans over the incredibly beautiful city of Lucca and the artery of the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, built on the remains of a 1st-century ampitheatre. It’s all rather stunning.
Flurry of attacks (163km to go)
11:52 , Flo CliffordTudor have been active so far, still searching for a maiden Grand Tour stage win, but despite plenty of attempted no-one can make anything stick.
Pedersen and Van Aert now launch off the front together - that’s a formidable pairing - but Martin Marcellusi brings them back.
On the first climb (174km to go)
11:42 , Flo CliffordThe riders have crested the Montemagno climb, a 3km rise at 4.4%, the first uncategorised climb of the day on a stage which is absolutely packed with vertical metres.
The bunch are all back together and Wilco Kelderman leads them onto the descent.
Four riders up the road (179km to go)
11:34 , Flo CliffordAs expected, everyone has gone ballistic at the start of this stage as it represents a great chance for a breakaway. Four riders are up the road at the moment, including British rider Owain Doull, with Tom Pidcock’s teammate Xabier Azparren trying to bridge across. They’ve only got around 15 seconds on the bunch but Mads Pedersen is leading the chase behind, with stage eight winner Luke Plapp on his wheel.
Flag drop!
11:26 , Flo CliffordHere we go, the flag is waved and 186km of racing is underway. We’re back in Tuscany and stage nine’s winner in Siena, Wout van Aert, fancies getting in the breakway.
Neutralised start
11:08 , Flo CliffordThe riders roll out in Viareggio for the neutralised start. Pink appearings to be growing on Isaac del Toro, who waves to the crowds at the roadside.
Fortunately the weather is looking much better today after yesterday’s washout.
'If I'm not racing I lose interest' - Tom Pidcock
11:01 , Flo CliffordTNT Sports had an interesting chat with Tom Pidcock at the end of stage 10. The Brit seemed a bit more chipper after an admittedly mixed Giro so far.
“It was a long way to the top of that climb, I started pretty hard and I was feeling good, but the long straight catches up with you pretty fast. Then you come out the tunnel and it had started raining, I don’t know how grippy the roads are. It was a nice hit-out,” he said of the time trial.
Asked about his Giro as a whole, and his plan to attack each day, he says, “To be honest, it’s been difficult. The stage with the first uphill finish was good for me, but I had a really bad day, probably the worst this year, and on the Strade stage [stage nine] I was stood at the side of the road four times.
“But it’s better that I keep focused every day and if I’m not racing I kind of lose interest in it, so it’s a better way of doing it [attacking each day]. It’d be more fun if it was going a bit better! I could have been super disappointed on the Strade stage, I felt super good, but I enjoyed it. If I start complaining as well as all the GC guys who probably don’t like it we won’t have these stages anymore, but they’re the most fun stages.”
Well said - Simon Yates was among the GC riders who objected to the use of gravel on stage nine. And interesting that Pidcock refers to the ‘GC guys’, not including himself in that group.
Tour de France unveils dramatic change to final stage of 2025 route
11:00 , Flo CliffordTaking a brief detour away from Italy for a moment... the full route for the final stage of this year’s Tour de France was revealed earlier today.
The traditional processional final stage of the Tour de France will be considerably tougher this year, with the race organisers introducing three climbs of Montmartre - meaning the battle for the yellow jersey could yet be decided on the last day of the race.
Typically stage 21 of the Tour is an affair for the sprinters, an unofficial sprinting world championships, with several passages of a finishing circuit in the centre of Paris and the finish line on the iconic Champs-Elysees.
But inspired by the brilliant reception of the Olympic Games last summer, which saw thousands of spectators cramming onto the streets of Montmartre to cheer on the riders, race organisers ASO have opted to include a circuit of Montmartre itself in the route plan for this year’s final stage.
Tour de France unveils dramatic change to final stage of 2025 route
Giro d’Italia 2025 stage-by-stage guide: Route maps and profiles for all 21 days
10:54 , Flo CliffordWant to get ahead on the action after today? Lawrence Ostlere has put together a handy stage-by-stage guide to this year’s race:
Giro d’Italia 2025 stage-by-stage guide: Route maps and profiles for all 21 days
Predictions for stage 11
10:47 , Flo CliffordToday looks like a good day for a breakaway, but who has the legs at this point in the race, and who is far enough down on GC to be let go?
Max Poole did well to shave a minute off his time deficit on Tuesday’s time trial and now sits four minutes down, but is likely to still be targeting GC. Could Romain Bardet be let off the leash again today? Luke Plapp had a less stellar outing in the time trial but took a brilliant victory on stage eight and may fancy another on similar uphill terrain.
The likes of Nicolas Prodhomme, Andrea Vendrame, and Wout Poels may all fancy it, while UAE have so much strength in depth they could test Roglic by sending a satellite up the road in search of glory.
An uphill sprint makes it prime Tom Pidcock territory, but expect a fierce battle to get up the road in this one and potential splits in the general classification too.
If reigning champion Tadej Pogacar was here he’d be attacking on the biting upper slopes of the Alpe and doing a 90km solo to the finish - but we can probably rule out any of the GC hopefuls doing that.
Who is leading the Giro d’Italia?
10:40 , Flo CliffordThe Giro d’Italia general classification standings shuffled again on stage 10 as race favourite Primoz Roglic, having slipped seven places to 10th overall on a frantic day on the sterrato in Tuscany, got his GC bid back on track and moved up to fifth.
The Slovenian clawed back time on a rain-hampered time trial from Lucca to Pisa, with his major rival Juan Ayuso now a little under a minute ahead of him.
Ayuso’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Isaac del Toro remains in the pink jersey after he took it on Sunday, having made history as the first Mexican to wear the Giro leader’s jersey and the youngest leader of the race this century.
Who is leading the Giro d’Italia? Maglia rosa and general classification standings
Daan Hoole wins Stage 10
10:33 , Flo Clifford
Daan Hoole on his maiden Grand Tour stage victory
10:26 , Flo Clifford“It’s unbelievable, it didn’t sink in yet,” the Dutchman said. “I’m so happy, I’m full of emotions. I was aiming for this day, I was feeling good all week, but I never thought I would [win].
“Of course the GC guys had rain, that changed a lot, but I’m so glad I could beat Tarling in more or less the same conditions. It’s an insane feeling.
“Yeah [I was surprised to beat Tarling]. He’s one of the best time triallists in the world, he started super fast and when I saw his first intermediate time I was thinking it would be hard to beat him. But I did a good second part, I took some time back on him, maybe he exploded a little bit. I cannot understand it yet.
“Victory in the Giro is already so special. I want to thank the team, my coach, everyone - my parents, my brother. I don’t know what to say, it’s crazy!”
GC winners and losers on stage 10
10:19 , Flo CliffordPrimoz Roglic is the big beneficiary, leaping from 10th to fifth, and slashing a minute off his deficit. Ayuso narrows the gap significantly to del Toro and is now a little under a minute ahead of Roglic, so has more or less kept that gap steady.
Antonio Tiberi has clung onto third, but is only two seconds off Simon Yates, who is now the best-placed British rider and fourth overall after an excellent time trial.
Ciccone, Carapaz and Bernal all lost time and places, the latter after crashing - although we didn’t see it - although it could have been worse. Thymen Arensman has crept up into the top 10, six seconds off his teammate, so Ineos have options. Further down on Britwatch, Max Poole has cut more than a minute off his deficit to the pink jersey: he’s 21st, 4:17 down on del Toro.
What happened on stage 10?
10:12 , Flo CliffordDaan Hoole took a maiden Grand Tour stage victory on stage 10 of the 2025 Giro d’Italia, the second of two time trials, as Josh Tarling was denied a double against the clock after winning stage two’s shorter contre-la-montre in Albania.
The Dutch national TT champion came out on top on the 28.6km run from Lucca to Pisa, finishing by the iconic Leaning Tower, and had a nervy wait as the GC contenders set off.
But the heavens opened later in the afternoon - after rain in the morning caused Primoz Roglic to crash in the recon - and none of the contenders for the overall title came close to the Dutchman’s time.
But Roglic, having slipped to 10th on Sunday’s gravel stage to Siena, made up more than a minute of his time deficit to move up the standings to fifth and reignite his bid for a second maglia rosa after victory in 2023.
General classification after stage 10
10:05 , Flo Clifford1) Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in 34:11:37
2) Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +25”
3) Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) +1’01”
4) Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1’03”
5) Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +1’18”
6) Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2’00”
7) Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2’06”
8) Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +2’07”
9) Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) +2’10”
10) Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) +2’27”
Stage 10 results
09:58 , Flo Clifford1) Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek) in 32’30”
2) Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) +7”
3) Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) +10”
4) Mattia Cattaneo (Soudal Quick-Step) +23”
5) Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) +24”
6) Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +37”
7) Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) +44”
8) Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) +47”
9) Michael Hepburn (Jayco AlUla) +50”
10) Xabier Azparren (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +54”
How to watch
09:51 , Flo CliffordViewers in the UK can watch the action live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Stage 11 starts at 12.05pm local time (11.05am BST) and it set to finish at 5.30pm local time (4.30pm BST).
Route map and profile
09:44 , Flo Clifford
Stage 11 preview
09:37 , Flo CliffordThe 2025 Giro d’Italia heads back into the hills with a tough outing in the Apennines, which could yet see a further shakeup of the general classification.
It’s officially classed as a ‘hilly’ rather than mountainous stage, but the 186km run from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne’ Monto features 3,850m of elevation and gain and a behemoth of a climb in the category one Alpe San Pellegrino, which last featured in the Giro 25 years ago.
Like many of the major climbs in this year’s race it comes halfway through the stage, with its slopes averaging 8.8% for 13.7km but ramping up to a hideous 19% on its upper reaches. It’s the first major climb of the day after a lumpy first 80km and we could see a replay of stage eight, with a frantic early battle to get into the breakway before an escape group eventually settles down on a climb.
Giro d’Italia Stage 11 preview: Map, standings and route to Castelnovo ne’ Monti
Good morning
09:30 , Flo CliffordHello and welcome to live coverage of stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia!
With all the time-trialling out the way after stage 10, today the race heads back into the mountains (technically it’s hilly, but there’s an Alpe on the parcours today, so that feels a bit of an understatement).
We’ll have all the build-up and action right here.
