The Giro d'Italia concluded with Simon Yates' victory (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and the defeat of Isaac Del Toro and his UAE Emirates team. Few would have bet on the British rider's success, and even fewer would have imagined witnessing the spectacle created by Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Del Toro on the Colle delle Finestre.

"The smartest won, and Del Toro lost" Carapaz bluntly declared after the finish line.

The twentieth stage was the last opportunity for the general classification to change, with three riders all within one and a half minutes. Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz especially had not come to Italy just to secure a podium and were willing to take risks to achieve their goal. The EF Education-EasyPost team scattered the group at the foot of the Colle delle Finestre, and Carapaz did not hesitate to attack from far away. While he had managed to remain alone with the pink jersey, the two riders were then overtaken by Yates, who alone managed to fly towards the final victory, also thanks to Van Aert's help who had entered the day's breakaway. The moral of the story is that Yates won not only because he was more skilled and clever, but because he secured the pink jersey due to Del Toro and Carapaz's inability to work together. In his post-race statements, the Ecuadorian was not at all kind to the Mexican, describing him as incapable of racing intelligently.

Arriving more than 5 minutes behind Simon Yates, the EF team rider had to settle for third place in the general classification. "I think we were the strongest, but the smartest won" - Richard Carapaz declared, visibly gloomy after crossing the finish line - "In the end, Del Toro lost the Giro. I think he didn't race well today, and in the end, the smartest won".

Carapaz was particularly angry after the finish and preferred to express his thoughts later through social media.
"We took everything for granted, we tried everything possible, but in the end, there was only one winner. Congratulations to Simon Yates."