Giro d'Italia 2025: Daan Hoole claims surprise win in sodden Stage 10 TT as Primoz Roglic makes gains on Isaac del Toro and pink jersey rivals

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Wet roads wreaked havoc for the GC riders as towering Dutchman Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek) caused an upset with victory in the Stage 10 individual time trial between Lucca and Pisa. Primoz Roglic was the big winner as he leapt back into the top five as Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) held onto pink in heavy rain. The Mexican now leads team-mate Juan Ayuso by 25 seconds.

'I cannot believe it' - Hoole reflects on 'insane feeling' after Stage 10 win at Giro

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Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) bounced back into contention for the pink jersey after putting in the best performance of the GC riders in Tuesday’s sodden Stage 10 – a 28.6km individual time trial between Lucca and Pisa.

Putting his nightmare on the Tuscan white roads on Sunday behind him, Roglic rose five places to fifth on GC, while slashing his deficit to race leader Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) to 1:18. Mexico’s Del Toro battled in tough conditions to stay on the top of the pack with a reduced lead of 25 seconds on Spanish team-mate Juan Ayuso.

Victory on the day went to the towering Dutchman Daan Hoole, who sprung a surprise in Tuscany to deliver his Lidl-Trek team their fourth win of the Giro. Dutch national champion Hoole held off British duo Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) and Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) on dry roads before the heavens opened for the race favourites.

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Roglic braved the conditions to take 17th place on the day, 1:15 down on Hoole but enough to see him jump above the likes of Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), who all struggled on the slippery roads.

Bernal, who crashed early during his race of truth, dropped out of the top 10 at the expense of Ineos team-mate Thymen Arensman – now 10th at 2:27 – while Italy’s Ciccone and Ecuador’s Carapaz also slunk to eighth and ninth respectively.

A solid day for Britain’s Simon Yates saw the Visma-Lease a Bike rider rise to fourth place at 1:03, just two seconds shy of Italy’s Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) on the virtual podium.

Hoole delivers ‘big ride’ to take TT lead on Stage 10

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But the day belonged to 26-year-old Hoole, who benefited from dry roads, a super solid second half, and some serious risk-taking to post his first ever Grand Tour stage win.

"It’s unbelievable. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I cannot believe it. I’m so happy. I’m full of emotions. I want to thank so many people. It’s crazy," said a near-speechless Hoole after beating Stage 2 time trial winner Tarling, the British champion, by seven seconds.

"I was aiming for this day. I was feeling good all week, but to win – I never thought I would do this. I’m so happy. Of course, the GC guys had rain and that changed a lot. But I’m so happy I could beat [Josh] Tarling in more or less the same conditions. It’s an insane feeling – I don’t know what to say.

"Tarling is one of the best TT riders in the world. He started super fast and when I saw his time I was thinking it would be hard to beat him. But I did a good part in the second part and took some time back on him, and maybe he exploded a little bit."

‘Champagne and tiramisu’ – Pedersen on celebrations after Hoole win on Stage 10

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One of the early starters, Hoole made light work of roads still slightly damp from an earlier downpour – throwing caution to the wind on many of the turns on a rare occasion where his ambitions came before those of team-mate Mads Pedersen.

Sixth in Tirana in the Stage 2 time trial on the opening weekend of the race in Albania, Hoole trailed Tarling by 17 seconds at the first time check after 8.3km – only to put in a stonking second phase to emerge from the short climb and descent a slender four seconds to the better.

Hoole watched from the hot-seat in Pisa as Tarling pushed hard on the final third, the British champion coming up short by seven seconds, with compatriot and former team-mate Hayter a further three seconds back in third place. Things looked even better for Hoole when Belgium's Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) could not match the form he had showed in winning at Siena on Sunday.

Van Aert 'not fresh enough to push through the pain' on time trial

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But the day was far from won – with all the GC favourites still left to roll down the ramp in the historic centre of Lucca before embarking on a near-lap of the city’s famous medieval walls.

Australia’s Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) soon came home 37 seconds down to set a strong time considering he picked up a flat and needed a bike change early on. The fact that Vine was nine seconds faster than Hoole from the first intermediate check to the finish underlined that the race was far from over.

That was until steady drizzle gave way to a huge downpour that ultimately crowned Hoole the victor before any of the top 10 had left Lucca.

Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) just about managed to avoid the worst of the weather to post the best time of the GC riders, one minute down on Hoole in 14th place.

When Roglic – who crashed earlier in the day while doing a recon of the course – came through the first checkpoint 30 seconds down on Tarling’s target time, it looked like the Slovenian’s bad luck was going to continue.

Close one! Tarling almost collides with rider around corner on TT

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But with the exception of Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) – who went out too hard – that was the best time of the pink jersey rivals, and Roglic kept on chipping away all the way to the finish.

Ayuso started very strongly but faded as the rain got worse, the rangy Spaniard ultimately conceding 19 seconds to Roglic. Del Toro brought proceedings to an end, crossing the line 2:22 down on Hoole to confirm the Dutchman’s victory while shipping 1:07 to Roglic in the battle for pink.

It is a battle that the 21-year-old Mexican revelation is still winning – albeit with team-mate Ayuso breathing down his neck, and Roglic looming menacingly at 1:18.

Wednesday’s 186km Stage 11 from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne’ Monti features the return of the fearsome Alpe San Pellegrino and its sinuous double-digit ramps – but this test comes halfway through the stage and ahead of a lumpy run to the finish.

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