Del Toro becomes first Mexican to lead Giro d'Italia, Van Aert wins dusty stage

SIENA, Italy (AP) — Isaac del Toro became the first Mexican cyclist to take the overall lead of the Giro d’Italia but the 21-year-old was beaten on the line by Wout van Aert in a tough and dusty ninth stage on Sunday that shook up the general classification.

Van Aert edged out Del Toro in a sprint at the end of the 181-kilometer (112-mile) route from Gubbio to Siena, that included a mini Strade Bianche on the white, gravel roads of Tuscany.

Giulio Ciccone was third, 58 seconds behind, on a disastrous day for pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic.

It was Van Aert's first win of the season after the 30-year-old Belgian struggled with form following an injury-hit campaign last year. It was also Van Aert’s first stage win in his Giro debut. He has won nine stages at the Tour de France, and three at the Spanish Vuelta.

“It’s easy to say this victory means a lot to me, I almost cannot explain it," Van Aert said.

“It had to be here I believe because this place is where my road career started back in 2018 and to win this stage after a long period without delivering, finally again, it feels so good.”

The stage exploded into life in the first two of the five gravel sectors, with the dust and grit kicked up by the cyclists — and the race cars — swirling all around.

Most of the six breakaway riders from the first half of the stage were caught on the first sector, with the rest swept up on the second, where Roglic was caught up in a crash.

All those involved were swiftly back up but there was further disaster for Roglic shortly afterward as he had a puncture and had to change bikes.

Up front, Del Toro and Van Aert attacked from a small group on the final sector, with about 15 kilometers remaining, and it appeared as if the young Mexican was heading for the biggest victory of his career before Van Aert came round him about 500 meters from the line.

Del Toro has an overall lead of 1 minute, 13 seconds over UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate Juan Ayuso, with Antonio Tiberi 17 seconds further back.

Roglic — who had been third overall — slipped to 10th, 2:25 behind Del Toro.

“We take it, we finish it and I have to see what to do next,” Roglic said. “We will see. I mean, we’ll see at the end what that means."

Monday sees the race’s second rest day before a 28.6-kilometer individual time trial from Lucca to Pisa

The Giro ends in Rome on June 1.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Primoz Roglic of Red Bull - Bora - Hansgrohe during the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Wout Van Aert of Team Visma | Lease A Bike celebrates as he cycles to the finish line to win the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Matteo Secci/LaPresse via AP)

Wout Van Aert Wout of Team Visma | Lease A Bike celebrates as he cycles to the finish line to win the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Diego Ulissi during the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Cycles in the lead breakaway during the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/Lapresse via AP)

Bernal Gomez Egan Arley of Ineos Grenadiers during the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/Lapresse via AP)

Wout Van Aert and Romero Del Toro during the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/Lapresse via AP)

Van Aert Wout of Team Visma | Lease A Bike during the stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia from Gubbio to Siena, Italy, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Marco Alpozzi/Lapresse via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)