Italy tour
Pogacar dominates on the Giro queen stage
Tadej Pogacar is the dominant rider at the Giro d’Italia. photo
© Massimo Paolone/LaPresse/AP/dpa
Tadej Pogacar dupes the competition in a show of force on the most demanding stage of the Giro. The German professional cyclist Georg Steinhauser achieved his best result to date.
In another demonstration of power in front of the hopeless competition on the section with an altitude of more than 5,400 meters, the Slovenian took his fourth victory in this year’s tour. The Ecuadorian Nairo Quintana and the German Georg Steinhauser crossed the finish line in Livigno in second and third place. The 22-year-old Steinhauser achieved his greatest career success to date.
The professionals had to tackle five major climbs, including three category one climbs. 14 kilometers from the finish, Pogacar initiated one of his usual explosive starts – and left his competitors behind. Before the start of the tour, Pogacar confirmed that he was particularly looking forward to the 15th stage. Pogacar entered the section with a gap of 3:41 minutes. The all-rounder extended his lead to more than six minutes. The Giro victory can practically only be taken away from him by a fall or illness.
Strong Steinhauser
On the queen stage, Steinhauser attacked 22 kilometers from the finish at an altitude of 2,385 meters in northern Italy, but the soloist was caught ten kilometers later by Quintana, and later Pogacar rushed past him. Nevertheless, it was a great result for the Allgäu native.
Despite a great performance, the German professional cyclist Simon Geschke failed to take the lead in the mountains classification – due to Pogacar’s explosive attack, he ultimately had no chance of threatening the two-time Tour de France winner in the mountain jersey.
The second day of rest for the professionals is on Monday. A day later, things get busy again. However, the 206 kilometers to Santa Cristina do not lead over the Stelvio Pass at 2,758 meters above zero as planned. The highest point of the Giro was removed from the route plan due to the risk of avalanches. The professionals drive over the Umbrail Pass. The tour ends in Rome in a week.