Roglic slips the pink jersey off Thomas on the edge of seconds: the Giro d’Italia is his

MOUNT LUSSARI – The Giro is in the hands of Primoz Roglic, this time yes, definitely. On the eve of the last stage, the Slovenian is now in the pink jersey with 14” on Thomas after overtaking him in the uphill time trial of Monte Lussari. An emotionally impressive day. Roglic won with 40″ on Thomas, 42″ on Almeida. At the start Primoz was 26” behind Thomas. The Welshman’s deficit is now precisely 14″, unbridgeable with the bonuses still up for grabs in the Roman stage (10″ at the finish, 3″ in the second intermediate sprint), barring unthinkable things, such as an attack by Thomas: one thing never seen and that you will hardly see on the streets of the capital. And perhaps Thomas will have to regret the approximately 8″ paid for a change of helmet, in addition to that of bicycle. Roglic, on the other hand, didn’t change it and spun off very nimbly.

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The gap between Roglic and Thomas, if it stays like this at the end, will be the fourth closest ever. The 11” between Magni and Cecchi survived in 1948, and then the 12” by Merckx on Baronchelli (1974), the 13” by Magni on Coppi (1955). But Roglic’s time trial was not a simple one, far from it. Apart from the incredible toughness of the course, with an endless climb but in the midst of thousands of Slovenian fans, Roglic had to overcome a chain jump in one of the steepest sections of the course. At the first intermediate Roglic had 2″ on Thomas, at the second 16″, more than doubled under the Sanctuary at the top, where it was one of the most scenic finishes ever, in the heart of the Julian Alps. On the podium the traditional telemark of the former ski jumper, after the kiss to his wife Lora the hug to little Lev, already dressed in the pink jersey. Roglic had been third in the Giro in 2019. He won the Vuelta three times and finished second in the 2020 Tour. “A very intense moment” explains the very probable winner of the 2023 Giro, “what I did in the race is incredible, but I enjoyed it . It’s for my fans. I never thought that all was lost at the moment of the chain jump. It happened, I put the chain back on and set off again. It was a struggle, that’s why I’m here, and I enjoyed every minute of it.” Roglic is also the first Slovenian to win the Giro d’Italia. The podium in Rome will also have Thomas and Joao Almeida (1’15” the final delay of the Portuguese) Damiano Caruso, 4th in the stage and 4th final at 4’40”.