Tour of Italy: perspective in the weather chaos: Pogacar wins 16th stage of the Giro

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Italy tour
A clear view of the weather chaos: Pogacar wins the 16th stage of the Giro

Temperatures of two degrees and a 95 percent chance of snow were forecast at the Umbrail Pass. photo

© Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse/AP

The final week of the Giro d’Italia begins with a strike. Because of the bad weather, the drivers force a route change. In the end, Tadej Pogacar wins again.

Dominator Tadej Pogacar won the start to the final week of the 107th Giro d’Italia, which was characterized by chaotic weather conditions. The overall leader from Slovenia won as a soloist on Monte Pana near Val Gardena and relegated the Italian Giulio Pellizzari to second place on the shortened 16th stage. For Pogacar it was already the fifth daily success in the current Giro. Overall, it was the 75th win of his career.

Favorite Pogacar further extended his commanding lead in the overall standings. The 25-year-old is over seven minutes ahead of Colombian Daniel Martinez. The captain of the German team Bora-hansgrohe took third place, overtaking the Welshman Geraint Thomas in the overall ranking.

Drivers do not accept the organizer’s suggestion

The day initially started chaotically. Since temperatures of two degrees and a probability of snow of 95 percent were forecast at the Umbrail Pass, the professional cyclists refused to start. “Such conditions pose significant health risks,” said the drivers’ union CPA. They would not be in line with the regulations of the world association UCI for extreme weather conditions.

The organizer RCS finally decided to start the stage in Laas a few hours late. In total, the drivers still had to cover 118.7 kilometers in rain and cold temperatures. “It’s really bad weather,” Pogacar said. “I have already seen snowflakes in our hotel, which is at an altitude of 1,900 meters. At 600 meters higher it is definitely full of snow. It is dangerous to ski down there.”

After the departure from Livigno, the 2498 meter high Umbrail Pass was supposed to be crossed on Tuesday before continuing towards the destination Val Gardena. The organizer RCS had originally planned to set up a stopping zone at the top of the pass where the riders would have had the opportunity to change clothes during a three-minute break.

“The year is 2024. It is unacceptable to cancel and restart races under such circumstances,” the CPA continued. The Umbrail Pass was only added to the route last week instead of the 2,758 meter high Stelvio Pass because of the danger of avalanches there.

dpa

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