The Giro d’Italia is never boring. Caution may have been the byword for the general classification contenders before the final week, but, as ever, the corsa rosa threw up a thousand subplots on its way from Pescara to Rome.
The race set out with Remco Evenepoel as its favourite and ended with redemption for Primož Roglič. In between, a wide cast of characters played leading roles. Derek Gee, Eddie Dunbar and Andreas Leknessund were revelations. Thibaut Pinot’s stylish refusal to surrender illuminated the mountains, while his teammate Bruno Armirail’s cameo in pink gave the Groupama-FDJ domestique some unexpected time in the sun.
Geraint Thomas lost the race on the final weekend, but he won admirers with his magnanimity in defeat. Jonathan Milan enjoyed a break-out stage win and the maglia ciclamino, while Ben Healy claimed a most notable solo victory in Fossombrone.
In its final days, of course, the race became a contest between Roglič, Thomas and João Almeida for the final maglia rosa, with the Slovenian emerging victorious. Cyclingnews takes a look back at some of the defining moments of his victory.
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Remco Evenepoel catches COVID-19
It had just gone 10.30 p.m. on the eve of the first rest day when the press release landed: “Remco Evenepoel out of Giro d’Italia due to COVID-19.” For only the third time in history, a rider had left the Giro while wearing the pink jersey. Just like that, the complexion of this race had changed utterly.
The Giro had been trumpeted beforehand as a duel between Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), but it looked set to be a solo exhibition after the opening time trial in Ortona, where the Belgian claimed the first maglia rosa, putting more than two seconds per kilometre into his rival in the process. When Evenepoel farmed out the pink jersey to Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) at Lago Laceno, it was already clear that it was a short-term loan.
Evenepoel duly took the jersey back on the second weekend, but the margins were tighter than anyone anticipated. The world champion surprisingly conceded a handful of seconds on the punchy finale at Fossombrone on stage 8 and he only just pipped Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) in the time trial in Cesena the following day. Although Evenepoel’s overall lead stood at 45 seconds…
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