Tadej Pogačar took his first win at the Giro d’Italia, and (gasp!) he did it without a bike computer. The 25-year-old overcame a mechanical problem during the final climb to make his mark on the Corsa Rosa. Despite suffering a puncture about 11km from the summit finish, the two-time Tour de France champion quickly switched bikes and powered to victory. The Team UAE Emirates rider seized the overall lead from Jhonatan Narvaez, finishing 27 seconds ahead of Daniel Martinez and Geraint Thomas.
He currently holds a 45-second lead over Geraint Thomas in second place and Dani Martinez in third. The stage featured two preliminary Cat. 3 climbs before ascending to Santuario di Oropa, the Giro’s first Cat. 1 climb, with 12 km remaining.
Tadej Pogačar won Giro d’Italia Stage 2 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 a bike computer 😲
After a puncture and crash at the bottom of the climb to the summit finish, Pogačar needed a bike change but didn’t get chance to take his computer with him.
📸 Getty Images
_______
🇮🇹 #Giro pic.twitter.com/9sHHDIAWja— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 5, 2024
“I was quite calm,” Pogacar said after the race. “I was confused a little, then I crashed, but it was nothing serious. The team was super good today. They brought me back to the front, then we set a pace that we liked and it was perfect. Now I can relax a little bit for the next few days and we can stay safe in the sprints.”
Although this wasn’t on purpose to leave his head mount off, there have been times in the past when Pogi has opted no to use one, or a HRM or power meter. At the 2020 Tour de France, won the stage 20 time trial up La Planche des Belles Filles. TheSlovenian sensation chose to forego a cycling computer, relying solely on “feel” for the 5.9km climb. Despite encountering a bike change 200 meters into the ascent, Pogačar still smashed the previous record set by Fabio Aru in 2017, completing the climb two seconds faster.
Upon Pogačar’s return on Sunday, UAE-Emirates took charge at the front. By the time there were 5 km to climb, only twenty-two riders remained in the group.
Pogačar attacked with 4.4 km to go. Rivals slowly dropped like flies. First Jhonatan Narváez, then Geraint Thomas and then Ben O’Connor.
Fans lined the climb and cheered for the Slovenian ace as he flew up the climb. O’Connor, Thomas and Cian Uijtdebroeks were his closest chasers. This group grew and then the riders started sparring. O’Connor faded.
Dani…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…