‘You can’t win every day’ – Tadej Pogačar holds fire on Giro d’Italia gravel with time trial in mind

It would be an exaggeration to describe the pink jersey as a burden to Tadej Pogačar, a man who floats amiably through his cycling life as though largely untroubled by the effects of gravity. There are, however, aspects of leading the Giro d’Italia that he cheerily admits he could do without.

The novelty of podium ceremonies and post-race media duties has long since worn off for Pogačar, who has spent the bulk of his career donning one leader’s jersey or another. After defending the maglia rosa on the gravel roads south of Siena on stage 6, he dutifully ran through the usual rigmarole of sweaty handshakes and popped prosecco corks on the podium, before running the same old gauntlet of television crews in the mixed zone.