ISAAC DEL TORO maintained his tight grip on the Giro d’Italia pink jersey today, the first of two massive alpine days.

Del Toro even managed to increase his advantage slightly as the Mexican rider edged closest challenger Richard Carapaz to claim second place on the 19th stage and precious bonus seconds.

The duo crossed the line 58 seconds behind Nicolas Prodhomme, who claimed the biggest victory of his career on the Queen stage.

Del Toro inched to 43 seconds ahead of Carapaz overall. Simon Yates remained third but slipped to one minutes, 22 seconds behind Del Toro.

The stage featured 5,000 metres of elevation across five climbs — three of which were of the highest classification — on a 166-kilometre (103-mile) route from Biella to Champoluc.

Prodhomme was part of a large breakaway right at the start of the stage, and he pulled clear of the remaining escapees on the penultimate climb up the Col de Joux to solo to victory.

The French cyclist had a broad smile on his face as he approached the finish and he then sat up and stretched out his arms before putting his hands over his face in disbelief as he crossed the line.

The winner of the Giro will almost certainly be decided in another mountain showdown on Saturday before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome on Sunday.

The penultimate stage is a 205-kilometre (127-mile) leg from Verres to Sestriere that features the beyond-category climb on a gravel road to Colle delle Finestre, where Chris Froome’s audacious attack in 2018 earned him the title.