Giro d’Italia: Roglič, a legend in Rosa

The 33-year-old Slovenian conquered his first Giro d'Italia after getting the better of Geraint Thomas on the slopes of Monte Lussari on the eve of the arrival in Rome, where Mark Cavendish won the last stage. The Portuguese João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) is on the third step of the podium.

There were many emotions in front of the Coliseum in Rome, hosting the Grande Arrivo for the fifth time in the Corsa Rosa’s history. On Sunday, the day after a dizzying time trial, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) sealed his fourth overall victory in a Grand Tour, adding a first Giro d'Italia to his superb record.

“I still didn't manage to realise what it means to win the Giro d'Italia. There are a lot of emotions. It's always great when you win. Every victory is special and I'm grateful to be able to get this one. It will stay for the rest of my life”, said the winner in Rosa, the first Slovenian in history to lift the Trofeo Senza Fine.

Meanwhile, another legend of the sport also celebrated a historic success. Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team), 38 years old, took his 17th Giro stage victory in the Eternal City, after the second-placed General Classification finisher of the 2023 Giro d’Italia, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), stretched the peloton. The Welshman was closely followed by his former partner on the track, who rushed to his 54th success in a three-week race.

“I am really very happy. My guys and my friends did a great job. It's quite moving to be honest. Winning in Rome is really magnificent,” said the ‘Manx Missile’.

A matter of seconds between Roglič and Thomas

Four years after he was overthrown by Vincenzo Nibali and Richard Carapaz, the former professional ski jumper played the part of the hunter. His prey was Geraint Thomas, and he struck on the slopes of the painful Monte Lussari (7.2km at 12.1%), where this 106th edition was settled. At the end of the day, there were 14 seconds between the two strong men of this Giro in the overall standings. We have to go back to 1974 and the last victory of Eddy Merckx to find such a small gap between the winner and his runner-up. The Belgian then won by only 12 seconds ahead of Italy’s Gianbattista Baronchelli. More recently, in 2012, Ryder Hesjedal triumphed on the Italian roads with a margin of 16 seconds from Joaquim Rodriguez.

Second overall at the start of this final time trial, Primož Roglič was 29 seconds behind the Briton. There was no indication of such a final outcome. "G" seemed well on track to bring the pink jersey back to Rome. He impressed with his serenity, sure of his strength and never destabilized, only dropping a few seconds at the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. But the native of Trbovlje delivered a masterful performance on the Monte Lussari, winning the time trial 40 seconds ahead of Thomas and conquering the Maglia Rosa, despite suffering a mechanical.

A tricky path to Rome

The route between Fossacesia Marina, host of the Grande Partenza in Abruzzo, and Rome, witnessed great drama of the kind only the Giro d'Italia can deliver. The favourite Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) was forced to retire after a positive Covid-19 test. Before that, the young Belgian prodigy had crushed the competition in the opening time trial. In less than 20 kilometres, he had gained 43 seconds on Roglič, the Olympic Champion in the race against the clock. The UCI World Champion also won the second time trial in Cesena (9th stage) before he had to leave.

Other leaders met an unfortunate fate, such as Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers): the winner of the Giro in 2020 was forced to retire after a crash. Primož Roglič also went down several times, but was always able to get back up, in line with his career marked by various accidents and brilliant triumphs.

19 different winners: attackers have a blast

Out of 21 days of relentless competition, the stage victories were shared between no fewer than 19 different riders, a remarkable number. The breakaway riders were very successful with 10 wins. Long range attacks brought new faces to the front, including the inexhaustible Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) and Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM), who wore the pink jersey for four days and finished 8th in the overall standings. More experienced riders also shone and Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed his first two Grand Tour stage victories.

The sprinters engaged in intense battles, and the young Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious), already crowned with glory on the track, displayed his power on the road and won the cyclamen jersey in the points classification. The climbers offered epic struggles on the highest peaks. As he bid farewell to the Giro d’Italia, Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) left with the Maglia Azzurra in the mountain classification and a top 5 overall. As for João Almeida, he conquered a mythical summit when he won at Monte Bondone before climbing twice onto the final podium in Rome, as the third rider in the overall standings and the best young rider of the race.

As usual, the race for the Maglia Rosa offered its share of twists and turns, joy and tears. It ended with a historic party in Rome.