The fourteenth stage of this Giro d’Italia took the peloton from Treviso to Nova Gorica in Slovenia. Throughout the stage, Team Visma | Lease a Bike controlled the pace in the peloton in pursuit of the early breakaway.  

As the stage progressed, weather conditions worsened. Rainfall caused increasing tension on the slippery roads. With just over twenty kilometers to go, a large crash occurred at the front of the peloton. Several GC contenders were forced to chase. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike quartet of Kooij, Yates, Wout van Aert, and Bart Lemmen managed to avoid the chaos. A select group, including pink jersey wearer Del Toro, continued on.  

Van Aert and Lemmen then set the pace in support of Kooij, who was aiming for his second stage win in this Giro. The group steadily got closer to the last remaining escapee, Kasper Asgreen, but the strong Dane did not crack. Asgreen rode solo to the stage victory. Shortly behind, Kooij sprinted to third place. 

“It was incredibly hectic because of the slippery roads,” the 23-year-old Dutchman reflected. “We knew the technical sections near the finish would cause nervousness in the peloton. After the crash, the four of us ended up in the reduced front group. We did everything we could to close the gap to Asgreen, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.”  

In the general classification, Yates climbs to second place. The 32-year-old Brit now trails leader Del Toro by 1'20". Sports director Marc Reef looked back on a chaotic finale: “In the narrow streets of Nova Gorica, everyone wanted to be at the front. That ultimately caused the crash. It's a real shame that had to happen. Simon is now second in the GC, but of course that’s not the way we wanted it to happen. No one wants to see riders lose valuable seconds due to bad luck. Unfortunately, that’s part of cycling. Fortunately for us, we were in the right place this time. Now our focus shifts to tomorrow, where another important day for the general classification lies ahead.”