Lidl-Trek earned their sixth stage victory of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, this time through Carlos Verona, who pulled off a brave 44km attack into Asiago.
The Spaniard, riding in his 13th season on the WorldTour, tore away from an 11-rider lead group, holding off his chasers on a category-two climb, and soloing to the line.
The victory marked only the second of Verona’s career – his first coming at the Critérium du Dauphiné three years ago – and put him alongside Mads Pedersen and Dan Hoole as Lidl-Trek stage winners in this year's edition.
“I came to the Giro knowing that my role was support for Pedersen and [Giulio] Ciccone, and I was super happy with that,” the 32-year-old said afterwards.
"Everything changed", however, Verona added, after Ciccone abandoned the race overnight, having suffered a muscle injury in a crash the day before.
“Today I was riding with my mind and my legs, especially for Ciccone, because I know how much he worked for this race, how many sacrifices he did,” the Spaniard said.
“When you are a helper, you need to be there to help them. When they’re not here, you need to also be there for the team.”
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Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) continues to lead the race ahead of Monday's second rest day.
How it happened
(Image credit: Getty Images)
On a day slated for breakaway success, the fight to be in the front group was lively and aggressive from the flag drop.
Attacks sprung out of a peloton at full tilt, with the first 70km ticked off at 50kph. Eventually, after an hour and a half of action, a 35-strong pack managed to tear away.
Positioned at the stage's midway point, the 25km slog up the Monte Grappa began to whittle down the breakaway. Ben Turner and Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) dropped back, and turned to their efforts to ramping up the pace for a move near the summit.
Right on cue, with 93km to go – 2km from the top of the climb – Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) kicked away from his GC rivals. The pink jersey followed, so too did 2019 Giro champion Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), forming a group set to the rhythms of Latin America. The leading group ahead crested the Monte Grappa with an advantage of little over a minute, a gap that would fall away on the descent.
The sole survivor of the early breakaway, Marco Frigo (Israel Premier Tech) led the race alone into the valley, just 15 seconds up the road. Attacks soon came to join the Italian, and 10 riders – including experienced Grand Tour stage winners Romain Bardet (Picnic PostNL) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) – were able to bridge across.
Verona took his chance to attack at the foot of the final climb, a steady 16.6km ascent to Dori. With just one career victory to his name, the Spaniard drew out a minute’s advantage, alarming Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step) and Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla), who set off in pursuit.
Behind in the peloton, Carapaz looked to sting his GC rivals inside the last 30km. The Ecuadorian lept from his saddle and kicked away twice, each time followed by Del Toro, and distancing Roglič. Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) then picked up the baton, by which time the Slovenian was trailing a minute off the back.
Out of sight, Verona continued his solo charge to Asiago. "I knew I had to do it from far. I’m not really fast, I’m actually quite slow," he said afterwards. A loyal domestique turned Grand Tour stage winner, the Spaniard covered his face in disbelief as he crossed the line. Lidl-Trek's fortunes had been dented with Ciccone's abandon, but the victories kept flowing.
Results
Giro d'Italia 2025, stage 15: Fiume Veneto > Asiago (219km)
1. Carlos Verona (Esp) Lidl-Trek, in 5:15:41 2. Florian Stork (Esp) Tudor Pro Cycling, +22s 3. Christian Scaroni (Ita) XDS Astana, +23s 4. Romain Bardet (Fra) Picnic PostNL 5. Nicolas Prodhomme (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale 6. Filippo Zana (Ita) Jayco AlUla, all at same time 7. Gianmarco Garofoli (Ita) Soudal Quick-Step, +26s 8. Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè, +29s 9. Max Poole (GBr) Picnic PostNL 10. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar, both at same time
General classification after stage 15
1. Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 55:54:05 2. Simon Yates (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:20 3. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +1:26 4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +2:07 5. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech, +2:54 6. David Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious +2:55 7. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +3:02 8. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +3:38 9. Thymen Arensman (Fra) Ineos Grenadiers +3:45 10. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, 3:53
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Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
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