Giro d'Italia 2025 Stage 18 recap - Nico Denz saves Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe's race with stellar solo win from the break

Germany’s Nico Denz proved himself the strongest of a huge 37-man breakaway to save Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe’s Giro d’Italia by soloing to an emotional Stage 18 win in Cesano Maderno.

One of the last riders to join a stellar breakaway that also included big-hitters Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Denz managed to bridge over to the final lead group when the final selection was made with around 33km remaining of the 144km stage around Lake Como.

The 31-year-old German then put in his decisive move inside the final 20km to open up a commanding gap on his chasers. Drawing on the experience from winning two stages in three days in 2023, Denz held on for his third – and, he claimed, most emotional – win on the Giro, to give his team a boost following the earlier withdrawals of their star riders Jai Hindley and Primoz Roglic.

Italy’s Mirco Maestri (Polti VisitMalta) won the sprint for second place ahead of Belgium’s Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) when the chasers came home just over one minute down on the day’s winner.

Fast finishers Pedersen, Van Aert and Groves were part of the remnants of the break which crossed the line almost four minutes down, before race leader Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) came home safely in the peloton almost 14 minutes in arrears.

If Thursday’s stage was a relative day of rest for Del Toro ahead of two decisive days in the high mountains, the 21-year-old Mexican was dealt a blow with the withdrawal of his UAE team-mate Juan Ayuso.

Injured since his fall on the Tuscan gravel at the end of the first week, Ayuso started the day with a swollen eye following a bee sting – and the Spaniard soon climbed off his bike on the first of the day’s three categorised climbs. Del Toro will now enter the final phase of the race with just five team-mates following the earlier withdrawal of the Australian Jay Vine.

But the day belonged to Denz, who opened up about the sacrifices he and his Red Bull team-mates have made – and how they needed to bounce back following the disappointments of losing their leader Roglic and the 2022 champion Hindley early in the race.

A very emotional interview from our stage winner, who spoke about the sacrifices he and his team-mates made, and how they had to recalibrate following the departures of their two team leaders.

"This is probably the most emotional one after losing Jai [Hindley] early on and then Primoz [Roglic]. We invested a lot and everybody in the whole team - not only the riders but the staff - had this one big goal of winning the Giro d’Italia with Primoz Roglic. We were on altitude for two months, I’m now three months gone from home - didn’t see my wife or my children - and in the end, if you lose a leader like Primoz, you also lose a dream. It feels like all this hard work is for nothing. Luckily we turned around and could motivate ourselves - with Giulio [Pellizzari] doing a fantastic job in this Giro and now winning here today for me, on Father’s Day, by the way, it’s pretty special.

"When Primoz left the Giro, I went through the road book and realised there was only this stage that I could possibly win. So I had the plan, and I had the freedom to go for it today. I got in the break and then just followed my instincts. In the final, the group wasn’t really collaborating and I thought I’d give it a shot. I saw that I had a small gap - and then just went, all on one card."

Just 51 seconds will separate the top three ahead of the final two mountain stages as pink jersey Isaac del Toro comes home in the peloton almost 14 minutes in arrears after a fairly sedate day in the saddle.

The Mexican lost UAE team-mate Juan Ayuso, who was forced out with a bee sting early in the stage, but he was able to rest up ahead of tomorrow's showdown in the Alps.

Seeing that the final selection was 11 riders, we’ll bring you the finishing order of those riders…

1. Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe)
2. Mirco Maestri (Team Polti VisitMalta) +1:01
3. Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) "
4. Filippo Magli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizane) "
5. Alex Edmondson (Team Picnic PostNL) "
6. Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) "
7. Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek) "
8. Davide De Pretto (Team Jayco-AlUla) "
9. Nicola Conci (XDS Astana Team) "
10. Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling) "
11. Dylan van Baarle (Visma-Lease a Bike) "

The remainder of the day’s large breakaway – including those big-hitters Mads Pedersen, Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves – came home 3’40" down.

The Italian from Polti VisitMalta wins the sprint for second place and then shakes his head after realising what a missed opportunity that was. Edward Planckaert is third for Alpecin-Deceuninck.

The 31-year-old German saves Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe’s Giro with an emotional win after an emphatic attack on the finishing circuit. What a ride from Denz, who is all smiles as he greets his team soigneurs over the line.

Nico Denz will have time to savour this third stage win on the Giro d’Italia as he passes under the flamme rouge with 48 seconds of a buffer. Job well done by the German – what a ride!

They’re both shaking their heads on the back of the chase group – and either they’ve had a disagreement, or they both agree that it’s all over for them. As it is: 40 seconds now for Denz.

The rangy Dutchman has one last pop but he’s shadowed by the others and it’s too little, too late. Denz, meanwhile, reaches for his water bottle – which is still in his cage, I apologise – and has one last slug of water before the final push.

The German just won’t give up here – he’s giving his chasers no hope and nothing to play for, with the gap still 33 seconds and the chase going nowhere. "It’s not quite over yet," says Robbie McEwen, trying to maintain the suspense.

Unless his pursuers do something soon, Nico Denz will bring some joy to the beleaguered Red Bull team, who lost their leader Primoz Roglic after his series of crashes.

De Bondt takes it up again, and then Warbasse puts in a move to go clear with Maestri and Conci in pursuit. But Denz still has 33 seconds of a buffer.

Unless he picks up a puncture or mechanical, Nico Denz won’t lose this. The only question is whether he needs water – having run out of bidons and dropping two just moments before his attack. The gap is 30 seconds now.

Our lone leader goes over the line and the bell rings out. The next time over, he could be celebrating with his arms aloft. He’s extending his lead now as the break behind splits up, with Van Baarle struggling to hold the wheel.

Dries De Bondt decides it’s now or never. But it could be too late because Nico Denz has 25 seconds to play with – and he knows exactly what it takes to win a stage like this.

He won two stages in three days in 2023 and it looks like he’s going to take some beating today. With or without his sunglasses and bidon, Denz is clearly the dangerman. He now has 20 seconds and there’s no concerted chase behind. No one wants to use up their energy for the finish now, and that could hand it to the lone leader, who could save Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe’s race in the next 20 minutes.

After missing out on two water bottles in the feedzone, Nico Denz realises that the quicker he gets to the finish, the sooner he can have a drink. So, without a bidon in his cage – and with his sunglasses now falling off his helmet and onto the road, the German powerhouse goes clear.

Which of these 11 riders will win today’s stage? You have the engines of Van Baarle, Denz and Hoole, or the punch of Planckaert or the experience of De Bondt or Warbasse. Then throw in the Italians Conci, Magni, Maestri or De Pretto, or the track nous of Edmondson…

Nico Denz, who won a couple of stages on the Giro two years ago, put in an early dig but it was covered by Conci and Planckaert, and the leaders are back together. There are 11 here because Filippo Magli of VF Group also managed to get involved.

The next time will be accompanied by the sound of a bell to signify the last lap of this closing circuit in Cesano Maderno. The advantage of these 10 leaders is up to 1’35" and, amazingly, Pedersen, Van Aert or Groves won’t be our winner today. Heck, they won’t even get into the top 10!

These 10 riders now have 1’05" on the rest of the breakaway. It was Van Baarle who made the initial move, covered by Planckaert and Hoole before others joined. Denz and Edmondson were the last two to bridge over – and it looks increasingly like our winner today will be one of these 10 riders.