Richard Carapaz made a magnificent solo break to win stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia and claim the Maglia Rosa on Saturday.

Ecuadorian climber Carapaz made a bold move on the testing ascent of the Colle San Carlo with 28 kilometres to go.

The Movistar rider effortlessly moved away from his rivals to secure his second stage win of the race by a margin of a minute and 32 seconds in Courmayeur.

Carapaz replaced Jan Polanc as the overall race leader, with the Slovenian crossing the finishing line over seven minutes later.

Primoz Roglic is second in the GC standings, just seven seconds adrift of Carapaz in the battle for the pink jersey.

Roglic finished 1:54 after Carapaz in a group that also included Vincenzo Nibali and other GC hopefuls.

Nibali has 1:47 to make up on Carapaz as he eyes a third Giro title on home soil, while Simon Yates finished the stage in second after trying to make ground on Carapaz. 

 

CARAPAZ IN DREAMLAND

Carapaz sensed his opportunity to get the pink jersey on his back and grabbed it with both hands.

The 25-year-old flew up the road with GC favourite Roglic and Nibali staying in the pack.

Carapaz was in dreamland as he prepared to take the top step of the podium.

"I felt good this morning. We knew the altitude was good for me. I gave it everything because I knew the entire Giro was at stake," he said.

"The 30 seconds I gained on the penultimate climb were enough to allow me to build the lead I needed. The Maglia Rosa is a dream come true. I've been working towards this for a year. It is the fruit of my work, day by day."

 

STAGE RESULT

1. Richard Carapaz (Movistar) 4:02:23
2. Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) +1:32
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) +1:54
4. Rafal Majka (BORA-hansgrohe) +1:54
5. Mikel Landa (Movistar) +1:54

 

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS  

General Classification  

1. Richard Carapaz (Movistar) 58:35:34
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +0:07
3.  Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) +01.47

Points Classification  

1. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 194
2. Pascal Ackermann (BORA-hansgrohe) 183
3. Richard Carapaz (Movistar) 72

King of the Mountains   

1. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) 166
2. Richard Carapaz (Movistar) 64
3. Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha–Alpecin) 42

NEXT UP

After a couple of days with lung-busting climbs in the mountains, the riders end the week with a mainly flat 160km journey from Ivrea to Como on Sunday.