Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) claimed a solo victory in stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia today, after the French rider accelerated away from the remnants of the day’s breakaway along the penultimate climb with 28km to go.
Meanwhile, race leader Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) further extended his lead in the race, after the Mexican rider closely marked a late attack by Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), later out-sprinting his rival to take second on the stage.
However, Carapaz added to his advantage over third-placed Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike), gaining 22 seconds on the chasing group with the rest of the GC contenders.
Earlier, with the first climb of the day looming, a huge breakaway eventually formed, comprising more than 30 riders before the group was dramatically reduced by the summit of the Col Saint-Pantaléon, a brutal 16.5 kilometer Cat. 1 ascent.
With 59 kilometers to go, only 8 riders remained from the original breakaway that included the likes of Prodhomme, Antonio Tiberi, Pello Bilbao (both Bahrain Victorious), Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek) and Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla), while the main peloton had been whittled down to just 15.
The breakaway began to split on the Col de Joux, prompting Verona, Tiberi and Prodhomme to go it alone, while EF Education-EasyPost kept up the pace in support of Carapaz.
Prodhomme was the first man over the top, easily distancing his breakaway companions along the descent.
Indeed, there was no closing the gap on the Frenchman, who pushed out his advantage to more than a minute and half as he began the ascent to Antagnod.
In the meantime, backing the GC, a late attack from Carapaz put Del Toro on the defense, who quickly tracked down his Ecuadorian rival.
However, back up front, Prodhomme advantage proved unassailable, as the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale soloed to victory, crossing the line almost a minute head of Del Toro, Carapaz et al.
