‘It’s not Strade Bianche’ – Tadej Pogačar downplays demands of Giro d’Italia’s gravel stage

Tadej Pogačar’s appetite has been the story since the Giro d’Italia started in Turin. When he attacked on the first three days of the race, one wondered if he even intended to have a bite at every stage from here to Rome. “No comment,” he smiled after stage 3 in Fossano.

On Tuesday, however, Pogačar managed to resist the temptation of the Capo Mele. On stage 5 down the Tyrrhenian coast, meanwhile, his nibbling was limited to sampling a hunk of the city’s emblematic focaccia at the start in Genoa, thus teeing up an excruciating pun for the corporate-mandated hilarity of the Giro’s social media accounts.