Wout van Aert snapped a dry run by winning Stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia 2025 on Sunday, as Mexican rookie Isaac del Toro took the overall race lead after coming an agonizing second.

For the 21-year-old Del Toro, racing in his first Giro, this was a landmark performance that puts the UAE rider on the cycling map after he and Van Aert dropped everyone else.

"It's like the best dream, amazing," Del Toro said.

• Subscribe To FloBikes To Catch All The Best Cycling, News And Highlights
• The 2025 Cycling Streaming Schedule On FloBikes: What To Know
• Giro d'Italia 2025 Stage 8 Results: Luke Plapp Wins With Great Escape

Italian Giulio Ciccone was third, 58 seconds down, while title pretenders Richard Carapaz, Simon Yates, Antonio Tiberi, Juan Ayuso, Egan Bernal and Adam Yates all were around a minute adrift.

Bernal said after the race Del Toro could win the Giro.

"I can't believe Bernal has said this about me," said the powerfully built young leader. "But dreaming is free, right?"

Dreams aside, Del Toro may well find himself in the pink jersey for some time.

On the challenging white gravel roads toward Siena's iconic 12th-century Piazza del Campo finish line, Primoz Roglic, Tom Pidcock, Derek Gee and Michael Storer all lost considerable time in the overall standings.

Pre-race favorite Roglic fell and is at 2 minutes, 25 seconds back in 10th place.

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose," said the Slovenian.

Del Toro now leads teammate Ayuso by 1 minute, 13 seconds overall. Tiberi is 1:30 off the pace, with Carapaz at 1:40 and Ciccone rounding out the top 5 at 1:41.

For Van Aert, it was a long awaited 50th win, and the Belgian lay gasping on the floor of the medieval square that hosts a bareback horse race twice a year.

"I can't describe what it feels like," said Van Aert, who last won at the Vuelta last year. "It's amazing to win again. I felt bad not cooperating with Del Toro at the end, but he's a rival of my teammate Simon Yates for the the overall title."

Van Aert and Del Toro broke free from Bernal with 30 kilometers to go after it had seemed the Colombian was finally fully over his terrible injuries from a training crash in 2022, but now the 2019 Tour de France and 2021 Giro champion appears to be back in the mix at least.

Van Aert refused to work with Del Toro, who did most of the work over the final kilometers, possibly costing him the stage win on his big day.

On a clear day in the lush rolling fields of Tuscany, the stage was transformed by the five white gravel sectors measuring 29.5 kilometers.

Dressed entirely in pink to start the morning, veteran Italian journeyman Diego Ulissi lost his overnight lead in billowing clouds of thick white dust, but was cheered all the way in his home region.

Monday is a rest day, while Stage 10 on Tuesday is an almost-flat 28.6-kilometer individual time trial.

Giro d’Italia Stage 9 Results – Top 25

1. Wout van Aert (Team Visma - Lease a Bike) – 4:15:08 (B14)
2. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:15:08 (B12)
3. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) – 4:16:06 (B4)
4. Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) – 4:16:06
5. Simon Yates (Team Visma - Lease a Bike) – 4:16:08
6. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) – 4:16:08
7. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:16:15
8. Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) – 4:16:18
9. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) – 4:16:18 (B2)
10. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:16:18
11. Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – 4:16:20
12. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:16:30
13. Kévin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) – 4:16:32
14. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) – 4:17:11
15. Thomas Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 4:17:30
16. Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 4:17:30
17. Derek Gee (Israel - Premier Tech) – 4:17:30
18. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) – 4:17:30
19. Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 4:17:30
20. Martin Marcellusi (VF Group Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè) – 4:17:33
21. Dorian Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 4:17:35
22. Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) – 4:17:35
23. James Shaw (EF Education - EasyPost) – 4:17:35
24. Davide Piganzoli (Team Polti VisitMalta) – 4:17:35
25. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 4:17:35

Giro d’Italia Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 9

1. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 33:36:45
2. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 33:37:58
3. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) – 33:38:15
4. Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) – 33:38:25
5. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) – 33:38:26
6. Simon Yates (Team Visma - Lease a Bike) – 33:38:27
7. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) – 33:38:42
8. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 33:38:44
9. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 33:38:46
10. Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 33:39:10
11. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 33:39:48
12. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) – 33:39:51
13. Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) – 33:40:06
14. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) – 33:40:08
15. Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) – 33:40:19
16. Thomas Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 33:40:20
17. Christopher Harper (Team Jayco AlUla) – 33:40:24
18. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 33:40:28
19. Davide Piganzoli (Team Polti VisitMalta) – 33:40:31
20. Derek Gee (Israel - Premier Tech) – 33:40:44
21. Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana Team) – 33:41:41
22. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) – 33:41:53
23. Max Poole (Team Picnic PostNL) – 33:42:20
24. Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 33:42:33
25. James Knox (Soudal Quick-Step) – 33:43:03

Catch All The Best Races, Highlights, Insight, News And More On FloBikes

FloBikes is the streaming home to some of the best cycling from across the globe. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more of your favorites in action.

FloBikes Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloBikes subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

Join The Conversation On FloBikes Social

• Follow us on Twitter @FloBikes
• Follow us on Instagram @flobikes
• Follow us on TikTok @flobikes
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook