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SIMON YATES HAS BECOME THE LATEST BRIT TO WIN A GRAND TOUR - AND HE DID SO ON THE SLOPES OF A CLIMB THAT HAS COME TO DEFINE HIS CAREER 15:51, 02 Jun 2025 Simon Yates' professional

career has often bordered into the realms of fiction. And if Hollywood's best script writers had gathered in a boardroom on Saturday morning, even they would have struggled to pen the

events of the following six hours. This wasn't just a redemption arc for Yates, 32. It was the laying to rest of the ghost that had haunted him for the entirety of his cycling career on

the hellish slopes of a mountain that had kept him up at night. “I’ve never ridden it since,” Yates admitted as the Giro d'Italia lined up for the start of Stage 20 in Verrès, a town

that almost kisses the French border in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy. Seven years ago, Yates had taken to these roads, dressed in pink as the leader of the Giro

d'Italia, and on the slopes of the monstrous Colle della Finestre, he suffered the collapse of all collapses. Article continues below Chris Froome took flight and tamed the gravel roads

to the touch the sky faster than any other that day, descending down the other side and ripping the pink jersey from the shoulders of Yates - who couldn't even hold onto his podium

spot. Yates has won a Grand Tour in the years since, the Vuelta a Espana, he found himself battling for the yellow jersey on the opening stage of the 2023 Tour de France with his twin

brother, Adam. But Yates, thanks to that infamous day on the Finestre, has had a monkey on his back for his entire career. “It’s a long, long way away, and we’ll see how we get there, but

for sure it will maybe be emotional to be back. It’s a moment in my career that’s ever-present, let’s say. Let’s see what happens this time," he added. Three weeks ago, Yates touched

down in Albania as an outside favourite for the Giro - Juan Ayuso and Primosz Roglic were expected to battle it out atop the standings, while Leeds' Tom Pidcock was Britian's great

hope. In the ensuing three weeks, the Giro has played out like a soap opera. Roglic suffered bad luck unlike any other, crashing out on his native Slovenian roads. Ayuso had problems of his

own, his team-mate Isaac Del Toro had found himself in the overall lead after launching himself into cycling's stratosphere on the _strade bianche_ into the medieval city of Siena. And

as UAE-Emirates XRG prepared for civil war, Ayuso cracked at the start of the third week, leaving Del Toro the undisputed leader. The following day, with an eye swollen shut thanks to a bee

sting, Ayuso would also exit the race. The Young Bull, 21, was looking to become the youngest winner of the Giro since Fausto Coppi, one of the all-time greats, in 1940. He was looking

untouchable, floating over climbs and avoiding crashes. Yates, meanwhile, was quietly keeping himself in touch as Richard Caparaz looked for one last day of glory before he could ride off

into the sunset. Carapaz was throwing left jabs at the young Mexican, chipping away at his lead, but unable to land a metaphorical right hook - dropping him one day only to see the Young

Bull back in the ring and taking the stage victory 24 hours later. It all led to a blockbuster showdown on the Finestre on Saturday - Yates in third, having to make up almost a

minute-and-a-half, while Carapaz was 43 seconds behind Del Toro. DON'T MISS A THING WITH SPORT UPDATES! Want to keep up with all of the latest sport news? Well then sign up for the

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latest transfer news and breaking stories, right here Del Toro and Carapaz had looked the strongest of the trio in the days leading up to the queen stage - even dropping Yates on Friday.

And the Visma-Lease-a-bike man was again off the back on the early slopes. Yates looked done as the pair danced off up the climb, Del Toro - on the brink of history - solely focussing on the

Ecuadorian. And as the Englishman banished his demons on the gravel slopes, Del Toro and Carapaz were looking at each other - trying to bay the other into calling their bluff as any chance

of winning overall disappeared into the mist. Sport seldom allows fairytale endings, but this was Yates' as Carapaz risked losing everything to dare Del Toro to chase - but the young

Mexican bluffed right back all as Yates linked up with team-mate Wout van Aert (who was up the road from an earlier breakaway). Cycling is a sport where you lose more than you win - Yates

last won at the top level over 14 months ago - and the Englishman suffered the defeat of all defeats in Italy all those years ago. Article continues below Yates lost everything on the

Finestre before he conquered his demons and rolled into Rome, eternal, on Sunday as a winner of the Giro d'Italia.