Three years after the disappointment of losing the Tour de France finish to Slovenian rival Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar once again tested his limits. He aimed to punish the Giro d’Italia by conquering the twentieth stage, a demanding individual time trial of 18.6 kilometers from Tarvisio to Monte Lussari. In this decisive ride, Pogacar edged out the English rider Geraint Thomas, wresting the pink jersey away and signaling a dramatic shift in the race’s dynamic.
Roglic, hailing from Trbovlje and now 33 years old, carried the memory of a time trial that had once underscored Pogacar’s ascendancy. This time around, Roglic claimed the pink jersey himself and marked his fourth Grand Tour title after wins in three editions of the Vuelta a España. He delivered an overwhelming performance that put him well ahead of his closest rivals, including Thomas and Joao Almeida of Portugal.
Roglic, stubborn
The three-man, three-time trial format showed no favoritism. The enormity of Roglic’s effort created a gap of about 40 seconds on Thomas, who found no answer to the Slovenian power, and a similar margin over Almeida, who struggled to keep pace. Roglic’s virtual lead grew as he clocked a time of 44 minutes and 34 seconds, averaging 25.145 kilometers per hour. The display drew cheers from a crowd that lined the roadside, acknowledging a rider who had come so close to glory and now stood near the summit of the standings, closer to home in spirit than ever before.
Roglic approached Sunday with the air of a Roman emperor, the culminating day of a royal contest that allowed him to wear the pink jersey once more. He entered the final podium with a lead of 14 seconds over Thomas and 1 minute and 13 seconds over Almeida, cementing his status as a dominant force in the race and a source of pride for his countrymen.
Unusual chrono, uncontested fight between Roglic and Thomas
The route exhibited unusual characteristics, with steep ramps, sharp ascents, and grade percentages that tested every fiber of the competitors. The climb featured sections at 12 and 15 percent, culminating in a steep 7.4-kilometer ascent that peaked at 1,774 meters with an 11.8 percent gradient. The time trial was structured with three eliminations at 50-minute intervals, ensuring that moments of suspense would unfold in bursts and that favorites would be separated progressively as the course wore them down.
The event defied conventional expectations. Some sections forced riders to pedal on wheels, while others engaged in direct battles in the face of brutal ramps. The organizers adjusted the format on the fly, extending the clock for potential mishaps and carnage, a decision that drew mixed reactions from teams and fans alike. Patrick Lefevere, the veteran manager of Soudal Quick-Step, called the spectacle “nonsense” in the moment, underscoring the tension surrounding the day’s proceedings.
The first significant early benchmark came from Roglic’s close ally and friend, American Sepp Kuss of Jumbo-Visma, who posted an impressive average speed around 24.5 kilometers per hour. French rider Thibaut Pinot then took the provisional lead with a time of 45 minutes and 22 seconds, accompanied by expressive gestures that captured the drama of the moment. News soon arrived that Roglic had shattered the course records at several waypoints, while Thomas faced a setback due to a mechanical issue that forced him to stop and cost him more than ten seconds in the process.
As the ride progressed, Roglic pressed forward, and Thomas found it increasingly hard to respond. Approaching the finish, Italian cyclist Damian Caruso briefly led the stage with a time of 45 minutes and 18 seconds, only to fall from contention as Roglic delivered a stunning 44 minutes and 23 seconds, maintaining an average speed of 25.145 kilometers per hour. The magnitude of Roglic’s performance generated a wave of admiration that echoed through the crowd and across the sport’s circles.
In the end, Thomas paid the steepest price among the contenders. Not as strong a climber as Roglic on this day, he could not match the pace set by his rival and finished well behind, receiving the bitter taste of a tough defeat. The story took a turn that left Pogacar’s fate sealed in the context of a larger narrative about time trials, speed, and the ever-shifting balance of power in grand tours. The previous epic, where Pogacar had outdueled Roglic in a different setting, added a layer of poetic reversal to the season’s chronicles, reminding fans that outcomes in cycling can flip with a single, brutal climb.
With the Giro’s twenty-first and final stage looming, the race would culminate in a 126-kilometer route that began and finished in Rome. The proceedings on the penultimate day set a tone of inevitability for the finale, leaving spectators to anticipate how the last stage would unfold and whether Roglic’s lead would endure through the capitol’s streets and toward the season’s closing curtain.