Spaniard Carlos Verona delivered a stunning solo victory on stage 15 of the Giro d’Italia, marking a career-defining moment while shaking up the general classification — particularly for former champion Primoz Roglic, who endured a painful day on the bike.
In what was supposed to be a steady support role for his Lidl-Trek teammates, Verona launched a long-range attack that turned into a dream ride. The 32-year-old held off a charging group of fellow breakaway riders to take his first-ever Grand Tour stage win — and just the second pro victory of his career.
“I didn’t come here expecting this,” a visibly emotional Verona said post-race. “After losing Giulio Ciccone yesterday, everything changed. I didn’t do this for me; I did it for the team and for Cicco, who worked so hard for this Giro.”
Verona crossed the line in Livigno after 5 hours, 15 minutes, and 41 seconds of hard racing through the Alps, finishing 22 seconds ahead of Germany’s Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling) and 23 seconds ahead of Italy’s Christian Scaroni (Astana Qazaqstan). Frenchman Romain Bardet and others from the breakaway finished shortly behind in a tightly contested top 10.
Roglic Falters on the Final Climb
While Verona celebrated a breakthrough win, it was a day to forget for Primoz Roglic. The Slovenian, one of the pre-race favourites and former Giro champion, was dropped over 20km from the finish on the fearsome final climb and lost valuable time to his GC rivals.
Roglic, riding for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, slipped from fifth to 10th in the overall standings. He now trails race leader Isaac del Toro by a daunting 3 minutes and 53 seconds with just one week remaining.
The 35-year-old’s struggles contrast sharply with the rise of 20-year-old Mexican phenom Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who continues to impress in his debut Grand Tour. Del Toro retains the pink jersey and leads Britain’s Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 1 minute and 20 seconds. Spain’s Juan Ayuso, also of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, sits third, just six seconds further back.
Stage 15 Top 10 Results:
- Carlos Verona (Spa/Lidl-Trek) – 5h 15m 41s
- Florian Stork (Ger/Tudor Pro Cycling) – +22s
- Christian Scaroni (Ita/Astana Qazaqstan) – +23s
- Romain Bardet (Fra/Picnic PostNL) – same time
- Nicolas Prodhomme (Fra/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)
- Filippo Zana (Ita/Jayco AlUla)
- Gianmarco Garofoli (Ita/Soudal Quick-Step) – +26s
- Filippo Fiorelli (Ita/VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) – +29s
- Damiano Caruso (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) – same time
- Max Poole (GB/Team PicnicPostNL)
General Classification After Stage 15:
- Isaac del Toro (Mex/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 55h 54m 05s
- Simon Yates (GB/Visma-Lease a Bike) – +1m 20s
- Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +1m 26s
- Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) – +2m 07s
- Derek Gee (Can/Israel-Premier Tech) – +2m 54s
- Damiano Caruso (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) – +2m 55s
- Antonio Tiberi (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) – +3m 02s
- Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) – +3m 38s
- Thymen Arensman (Ned/Ineos Grenadiers) – +3m 45s
- Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +3m 53s
Reusser Rules in Burgos
In other cycling news, Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser capped off a dominant performance at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas by winning the final time trial stage and sealing overall victory. The Movistar rider claimed back-to-back stage wins and secured the general classification by nearly two minutes.
Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini finished second overall, with Dutch rider Yara Kastelijn rounding out the podium.
As the Giro enters its final and decisive week, the battle for pink is heating up, and with surprise wins and big upsets like today, anything can still happen in Italy.
