The Colle delle Finestre, a historic ski route on the Italian-French border, has witnessed pivotal moments in cycling history. In 2018, Simon Yates suffered a crushing defeat against Chris Froome, finishing 38 minutes behind. However, in a dramatic turnaround, Yates claimed victory on the same slopes seven years later, overpowering Isaac del Toro and ensuring his second Grand Tour win. Despite initially downplaying his chances, Yates focused on redemption, recounting his emotional journey and expressing gratitude towards his team as he celebrated a career-defining moment after years of setbacks.
The Colle delle Finestre is a sporting theatre in the north of Italy and just a short ski run from the border of France but it has become the site of two of Britain's most incredible moments in this race.
This was clearly a bluff. Over the last 38.5km of almost entirely uphill racing, Yates overturned his 1min 21sec pre-stage deficit and created an insurmountable time gap of 3mins 56sec to Del Toro.
I always had it in the back of my mind that maybe I could come here and close the chapter. Maybe not to take the pink jersey and the race but at least win the stage win or something.
I'm not really an emotional person really but even coming over the finish line I couldn't hold back the tears. It's something I've worked towards throughout my career, year after year and I've had a lot of setbacks.
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