Three years after the frustration of losing the Tour in the last time trial against his compatriot Tadej Pogacar, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) sentenced the Giro d’Italia by winning the twentieth stagean individual time trial between Tarvisio and Monte Lussari, of 18.6 km, in which he unseated the British Geraint Thomas from the pink jersey.
Roglic (Trbovlje, 33 years old) knew the glory that eluded him in that damn Lure time trial that glorified Pogacar. This time he won the pink jersey and his fourth big one, after three laps, winning a beastly time with enormous superiority against his direct rivals. Thomas and the portuguese João Almeida.
Roglic, intratable
In the duel to three there was no color. roglic It was huge and it exceeded in 40 seconds to Thomas, powerless against the strength of the Slovenian, and in 42 to Almeida. The virtual winner of the Giro marked a time of 44.34, at an average of 25.145 km/h, an exhibition shared with many compatriots who, due to their proximity to their country, went to the ditches to acclaim the idol.
Roglic will arrive as emperor of Rome this Sunday. The last day in royal dispute served the king of the Vuelta to put on the pink jersey. He will get on the podium with a final gap of 14 seconds over Thomas and 1.13 over Almeida.
Atypical chrono, fight without quarter between Roglic and Thomas
Cronus atypical for its route, exaggerated percentages and peculiarities in its 7.4 km at 11.8 percent, including ramps 12 and 15, and steep slope in the middle of 22 to reach 1,774 meters of altitude. A timed test divided into three separate heats with 50 minute intervalswhile the favorites came out every 3 minutes.
All different. Until the beginning of the climb, the riders used the “goat” against the clock, then for the brutal climb they switched to the conventional bike and just in case there was a huge carnage, the organization increased the out-of-control time by 50 percent . Soudal Quick Step skipper, veteran Patrick Lefevere, called the stage a “farce”.
Not everyone took the time trial seriously, some climbed sections doing the “wheelie” on the bike, others were making esses due to the extreme difficulty of the ramps. Already in competition, the first significant time was set by the American Sepp Kuss (Jumbo Visma), Roglic’s best gregarious, with a time of 45.28 minutes, at an average of 24.5 km/h.
The Frenchman Pinot arrived, gestures included, to take the lead with 45.22. At that time, news arrived that Roglic was breaking all the records at the intermediate points. Thomas was losing 16 seconds to Roglic, handicapped by a mechanical problem that forced him to land, losing over 10 seconds in the mishap.
Roglic marched forward and Thomas barely resisted. As they approached the finish line, the Italian Damian Caruso slipped into the party for the stage, with 45.18 in first place, but for a short time, as heThe Slovenian arrived launched with 44.23, at an average of 25.145 km/h. Big words.
Only Geraint Thomas remained to arrive, punished by a brutal climb. The Briton, not as good a climber as Roglic, paid for the effort, resisted well, but could not answer the great time set by his rival. On the last day of competition, and in time trial, this time he smiled at that rider who lost the Tour in 2020 to Pogacar due to the cruelty of a time trial. The story backwards.
This Sunday The Giro d’Italia ends with the twenty-first and final stagestarting and finishing in Rome and a route of 126 km.
2023-05-27 20:11:22
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