Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) has been on the receiving end of a devastating defeat at the hands of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in the 2020 Tour de France so he knows exactly how Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) felt on Saturday.
In that fateful year at the Tour, Roglič went into the final time trial with a 57-second lead over his much younger rival and lost more than twice as much on La Planche des Belles Filles.
So, when Roglič came into the Giro d’Italia‘s critical final mountain stages at Tre Cime di Lavaredo trailing Thomas by just 29 seconds there was every chance he would be on the delivering end of that sporting agony.
After matching each other on the steep final kilometres of the Dolomite ascent, Roglič sprinted to the line and gained a slim three seconds but it was the first signs that Thomas’ flawless Giro facade might be starting to crack.
Amid the battle for the general classification was an equally scintillating breakaway showdown, with the race’s most attacking rider, Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) launching first only to be passed and dropped by Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) for the stage win.
The spectators only had to wait a couple minutes to see the Ineos rider in the maglia rosa outsprinted by his Jumbo-Visma rival on the line. The gap at the finish meant the riders would go into the uphill time trial separated by only 26 seconds.
Stage 19 – Chipping away on Tre Cime di Lavaredo
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