Fansided

Chris Froome breaks out, claims Giro d’Italia lead entering final weekend

By Zach Bigalke

(Photo by Luk Benies/AFP/Getty Images)
(Photo by Luk Benies/AFP/Getty Images) /
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After Simon Yates saw his Giro d’Italia lead cut in half on Thursday, Chris Froome went on an audacious solo breakaway Friday to take over the maglia rosa.

Chris Froome entered the 2018 Giro d’Italia as the odds-on favorite. Froome arrived at the start in Israel as the reigning champion at both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. With a win in Italy, he would become the first cyclist in history to hold the titles at all three grand tours at the same time.

Once the race got underway, though, it looked like that dream was dead on arrival. Froome looked out of sorts against his competition, losing time here and there. There was no single breakdown. Rather, Froome simply looked like he was off form compared to the other contenders for the general classification.

Over the past few days, though, Froome has changed the narrative and flipped the script so effectively that he now heads into the final weekend just like he headed to the Jerusalem start — as the overwhelming favorite to emerge victorious in Rome on Sunday.

How Yates fell out of the pink jersey

After the long time trial into Rovereto on Tuesday, Simon Yates managed to fend off the challenge from defending Giro d’Italia champion Tom Dumoulin. The current world champion in the time trial carved out time, but was unable to completely make up the gap on Yates.

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Stage 17 into Iseo offered an opportunity for the sprinters to shine one last time before Rome. Elia Viviani, bedecked in the maglia ciclamino of the points leader, snatched his fourth bunch sprint victory. None of the general classification contenders were affected by the stage. With a 56-second lead and only five stages left to race, it appeared that Yates had firmly locked up the title.

But the mountains are never a place to assume anything. As the roads turned upward, Yates finally showed some signs of cracking. Stage 18 took the riders on the unforgiving pitch to the summit finish at Prato Nevoso. On that ride, Yates managed to hold onto the pink jersey. But his hold looked far more tenuous at the end of the day than it did when the stage started.

Froome was the catalyst for the attack to Prato Nevoso. Finally looking like his dominant self, Froome attacked in the closing kilometers. Yates was unable to hold his wheel, but Dumoulin and Domenico Pozzovivo were right there with the Tour and Vuelta champion. Dumoulin cut his deficit by 28 seconds to Yates, who nevertheless limited his losses in the final two kilometers and paced himself to remain in pink.

But the lead would not last forever

Showing that he was back on form, Froome decided to go all-in on the penultimate mountain stage. On the Colle delle Finestre, the British rider launched a solo effort 80 kilometers from the finish that caught everyone unprepared. Yates cracked on the climb, losing over 30 minutes by the end of the stage and falling all the way down to 18th in the general classification. For Yates, the Giro d’Italia dream died on the slopes of Stage 19.

The dream of a successful Giro defense also died for Tom Dumoulin, who had hoped to be the beneficiary of any time losses by Yates. Instead, Froome steadily gained time with each passing kilometer.

By the end of the stage, Froome had carved out a three-minute advantage on the next riders in the field. With two stages left to go, his lead over Dumoulin stands at 40 seconds. Barring some miraculous breakaway on Saturday, the lead is likely to hold all the way to Rome.

Next: Giro d'Italia 2018: Everything you need to know about the route

Froome shed his lethargy at just the right time. As a result, the Giro d’Italia will almost certainly have a new champion this year.

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