Del Toro stays in pink at Giro d’Italia after first of two massive mountain showdowns

CHAMPOLUC Italy AP One down one to go Isaac Del Toro maintained his tight grip on the Giro d Italia pink jersey on Friday the first of two massive alpine days Del Toro even managed to increase his advantage slightly as the Mexican rider edged closest challenger Richard Carapaz to claim second place on the th stage and precious bonus seconds The duo crossed the line seconds behind Nicolas Prodhomme who claimed the biggest achievement of his career on the Queen stage Del Toro inched to seconds ahead of Carapaz overall Simon Yates remained third but slipped to one minutes seconds behind Del Toro The stage featured meters of elevation across five climbs three of which were of the highest classification on a -kilometer -mile passage from Biella to Champoluc Prodhomme was part of a large breakaway right at the start of the stage and he pulled clear of the remaining escapees on the penultimate climb up the Col de Joux to solo to win The French cyclist had a broad smile on his face as he approached the finish and he then sat up and stretched out his arms before putting his hands over his face in disbelief as he crossed the line The winner of the Giro will almost certainly be decided in another mountain showdown on Saturday before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome the following day The penultimate stage is a -kilometer -mile leg from Verres to Sestriere that features the beyond-category climb on a gravel road to Colle delle Finestre where Chris Froome s audacious attack in earned him the title AP cycling https apnews com hub cycling Source