Van Aert breaks (his own) records with Colle delle Finestre climb
Wout van Aert’s performance in the penultimate stage of the 2025 Giro d’Italia wasn’t just race-altering. Powering up the brutal Colle delle Finestre (18.5 km at 9.2%), the Belgian star from Visma-Lease a Bike produced his highest-ever one-hour power output (at least that he's uploaded publicly): 428 watts. His effort helped teammate Simon Yates secure overall victory by setting up a decisive attack.
Van Aert crested the climb ahead of Yates and then led him for nearly 16 kilometers through the descent and flatter run-in to the final climb to Sestrière. According to his Strava data, Van Aert even claimed three KOMs along the route, including a standout time on the 13.6 km stretch between Balboutet and Pragelato.
By the time Yates linked up with Van Aert, he was 1:45 ahead of rivals Isaac Del Toro and Richard Carapaz. That gap ballooned to nearly five minutes thanks to Van Aert’s pulling, though it’s worth noting that Del Toro and Carapaz were focused more on each other than on organizing a chase.
