Simon Yates has today created one of those moments that will be forever etched in the history of cycling. The veteran Englishman has made a splash in the penultimate stage of the Giro d’Italia. Stage number 20. He delivered a stunning performance on the Colle delle Finestre, finishing the move with the help of his teammate Wout Van Aert at the legendary ski resort of Sestriere, in the Italian region of Piedmont. He started the day 1:21 behind the leader, Mexican Isaac del Toro, and will go to bed tonight with a 4:02 lead. A decisive blow. Tomorrow he will be crowned for the first time as the champion of the Giro d’Italia. The Maglia Rossa has an owner.
The stage was impressive, but it has an even more epic background that directly connects it to what Víctor Pastor is experiencing this Saturday at the Challenge de Cádiz. It turns out that exactly seven years ago, it was Simon Yates who was leading the Giro d’Italia and lost the race, curiously, on this very stage with a finish in Sestriere and a pass through the Finestre, that marvellous giant of asphalt, sand, and gravel. Cycling, the Giro, sport has given him a second chance, and he has seized it by the neck.
Sport, don’t believe everything you read, doesn’t always grant a second chance. You have to be very hardworking, very perseverant, and have, of course, that small and necessary dose of good fortune. Well, Pastor finds himself today in a situation very similar to that of Simon Yates. Three years ago, in 2021, he went out as the sole leader of the Challenge de España to play the final day. He started with a one-shot lead over Jens Dantorp and ended up losing by three. That Challenge de España, and here is the key, was played at the Iberostar Real Novo Sancti Petri, the same venue as the Challenge de Cádiz this week.
Pastor has built an even better lead than in 2021. He has a two-shot margin over three players: Rocco Repetto, Hugo Towsend, and Oihan Guillamondeguy. He has a new opportunity to win and achieve his first victory on the HotelPlanner Tour, a circuit where he has already secured two second places and a third. He is 30 years old, just two less than Adam Yates. The triumph would be a reward for perseverance. He is in his fifth year on the Challenge, the fourth full one, and has had good results, but has never managed to get into the Final of the Road to Mallorca. He has never thrown in the towel.
He will surely also be able to learn from what happened that Sunday in Sancti Petri. He has experience to spare. And preparation. He will also be able to learn from what happened afterwards when he missed 13 cuts in a row after finishing second in that Challenge de España. Simon Yates has shown today that thorns can also be removed. Undoubtedly, a good inspiration for this Cordoban with a calm spirit and resident in Málaga.
