After a quiet day on Friday where he let the breakaway slip away, Tadej Pogacar went on the attack again on Saturday during the last mountain stage of the Giro. The Pink Jersey accelerated on the last climb of the day, Monte Grappa, which was climbed twice, to overtake all the other leaders and swallow up the day’s breakaways. He then pushed his effort to the finish to score a sixth victory. He will add a first Giro to his record on Sunday at the end of the last stage in the streets of Rome.
The Slovenian had checked off this penultimate stage by discovering the route of this Giro in particular with this start in Alpago in the Veneto region, very close to the border of Slovenia. We felt he was very strong when we attacked five kilometers from the top of the second ascent of Monte Grappa, with 36 kilometers remaining before the finish. He had overtaken the last survivor of the breakaway, the Italian Giulio Pellizzari, to embark on yet another solo effort.
“I didn’t want to take any risks on the descenthe explained afterwards, that’s why it was good to be a little ahead of the others to take advantage of these emotional moments before the arrival, of these supporters. We followed the plan we set ourselves this morning before the start, the guys in the team did a great job, we never let too big a group go at the front. As I had good legs today, everything went perfectly. » He also justified his thirst for victory by “the obligations imposed by this Pink Jersey that I have worn since the 2nd stage”.
Bardet big loser of the day
There is still one stage left (Sunday in the streets of Rome over 125 kilometers) for Tadej Pogacar to conclude this victorious Giro, the first of his career. “I hope everything goes well, the road is dry and I can get home quickly after the finish (implying that there will be no falls). I don’t know Rome, I want to savor this last day. » He also knows that these three imperial weeks will be even more valuable if he also wins the Tour de France in July for a rare double, achieved last time in 1998 by Marco Pantani. “It was also thinking about this summer that I wanted to finish this Giro strong, I wanted to complete this last mountain stage as a test before the Tour de France. »
The podium did not change, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), struggling for a moment on the last climb, should remain on the third step, the Welshman having failed to worry the Colombian Daniel Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe), who easily secured his second place. This will be, barring an accident, his first podium on a Grand Tour. On the other hand, Romain Bardet (15th at 7’37” from Pogacar) is the big loser of this penultimate day, by conceding two positions in the general classification (9th), he should save the top 10 this Sunday.