Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) took a solo victory on stage 19 atop Alpe di Mera at the Giro d'Italia. He finished the race 11 seconds ahead of João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and 28 seconds ahead of overall race leader Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).
Yates put in his first attack with six kilometres to go on the final slopes of the Alpe di Mera, and then again as he raced further up the mountain side, where he gained valuable seconds on Bernal as the race heads into its final mountain stage 20 on Saturday.
Bernal gained time on runner-up Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) and limited his losses to Yates. The Colombian now sits 2:29 ahead of Caruso and 2:49 ahead of Yates.
The 166km race from Abbiategrasso to Alpe di Mera kicked off with a decisive breakaway that included Larry Warbasse (AG2R Citroën), Mark Christian (Eolo-Kometa), Giovanni Aleotti (Bora-Hansrohe), Andrea Pasqualon (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert), Nicola Venchiarutti (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), and Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Fenix).
They gained a three-minute advantage as Team BikeExchange and then Deceuninck-QuickStep set the pace behind.
The Belgian team set a pace so fast that it caught Ineos Grenadiers' Daniel Martinez off guard and he was distanced from the main group. His teammate Filippo Ganna was on hand to drop back and help the Colombian back up to the front group in time for the final ascent.
Watch how stage 19 unfolded in the race highlights above.
