Tadej Pogačar confirmed what many had assumed when his name was first announced for the 2024 Giro d’Italia start list, bringing the maglia rosa to the final stage 21 finish line in Rome as Tim Merlier bested Jonathan Milan to draw level on three bunch sprint wins each this race.
What many would have also predicted, but were still amazed by, was the daring and guile with which Pogačar both choked and animated the Grand Tour, a spectacle not often seen in such a dominant performance.
Special, pink-shouldered jerseys were rolled off the press for a Lampre-resembling UAE Team Emirates squad looking to respond to a 2023 Grand Tour campaign closed out entirely by Visma-Lease a Bike. Really, what this display now lays out is an enticing Tour de France contest between an injury-marred Dutch squad, a Tour novice in Remco Evenepoel, a Red Bull-infused Primož Roglič, and a Pogačar now looking to do the double.
But back to Rome, with one stage still to play for and a slim chance for the 13 teams who’ll come away with zero victories this Giro to end on a high. For the GC race, rarely is a processional stage so … processional. As the squads circulated to the front for their ‘I survived the Pogačar Giro’ photographical mementos, the Slovenian and his UAE teammates held two fingers aloft – a V for Victory or an indication of intent that the job is only half done?
On the road returning the peloton to the Italian capital after heading south-westwards to the coast, the cavalry arrived just in time for the maglia ciclamino, Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan, who required a bike change with less than 10 kilometres to go and delivering back into the fold before it was too late.
But no matter how vigorously Milan bobbed his head in the charge for the finish line, the triple-stage-winning points classification winner had his three stage victories equalled by the Belgian Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick Step), who was seemingly pulled ahead of the bunch gallop as if on an invisible piece of string to cap off a fine three weeks of racing for his team.
- Four riders formed one of the only almost-nailed-on doomed breakaways in 2020s Grand Tour racing with 70 of the 125 kilometres remaining on the final stage: Alex Baudin (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale) and Arkéa-Samsic revelation Ewen Costiou were joined by the only rider from Rome in this year’s race, Martin Marcellusi (VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè), and EF Education EasyPost’s Mikkel Honoré who has completed the Giro despite nursing a broken rib.
- This quartet was caught with 13.3 km to go, just before the start of the final lap.
- Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) was forced to chase back on after a bike change with under 10 km remaining.
- Following Merlier and Milan, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) came in third, Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) fourth, and Visma-Lease a Bike’s Tim Van Dijke fifth.
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Brief analysis:
- Since Pogačar showed almost immediately that he was a cut above the rest of the GC field in Italy, the cycling world has been preoccupied on when Grand Tour racing will return to Italy next month, with the Tour de France’s Grand Départ in Florence where the Slovenian will attempt the first Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998. Pogačar has the opportunity to further cement his legacy and climb the rungs of historical greatness, with only the likes of Eddy Merckx, a three-time double winner, and current nemesis Jonas Vingegaard, as foes worth him chasing.
- While Milan fell short in Rome, his ascension in the sprinting hierarchy has been established, alongside Merlier, who when finally given the chance to race a Grand Tour after a year on the bench for a Soudal-Quick Step squad centred on the GC hunger of Remco Evenepoel, delivered above what would have been expected of him. Aside from a brief Olav Kooij-shaped incursion into their duopoly, Milan and Merlier secured 6 out of the 7 bunch sprint victories available. The likes of Groves, Gaviria and Jayco-AlUla’s Caleb Ewan left winless despite their efforts.
Note: An earlier version of this article omitted Primož Roglič from the list of GC Tour de France contenders. We apologise profusely for this negligent oversight.
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