2023-05-28 17:42:18
Former ski jumper Primoz Roglic became the first Slovenian to win the classic Giro d’Italia on Sunday. On the 21st and last stage, the 33-year-old mightn’t be snatched away from the pink jersey he had won in the mountain time trial the day before, and he safely crossed the finish line in Rome. The last section went to sprint king Marc Cavendish, the Briton celebrated an emotional victory in his last Tour of Italy. The 38-year-old will end his career at the end of the season.
For Roglic it is the fourth Grand Tour triumph overall, he had won the Vuelta three times. The Tokyo 2021 Olympic time trial champion from Team Jumbo-Visma was unchallenged in the 126 km showdown on a flat circuit in Rome and prevailed by 14 seconds. Three years ago, on the penultimate day of the Tour de France, Roglic went first in the mountain time trial to Planche des Belle Filles and ultimately failed to maintain a lead of 57 seconds over his compatriot Tadej Pogacar.
Third overall went to Portuguese Joao Almeida, 1:15 minutes behind. For Astana rider Cavendish, on the other hand, it is the 17th win of a Giro stage. The Austrians Patrick Konrad (Bora) and Lukas Pöstlberger (Jayco) crossed the finish line in the final sprint with the field. Konrad from Lower Austria finished 20th, almost 38 minutes behind, Pöstlberger from Upper Austria was 95th, a good four hours behind.
The 14-second difference between first and second following 21 days of racing and 3,489.2 km is the fourth tightest decision in Giro’s 115-year history. The last time it was close was 49 years ago, when the Belgian “cannibal” Eddy Merckx won the final twelve seconds ahead of the Italian Gianbattista Baronchelli. Only in 1948 was it even closer, when eleven seconds separated the overall winner from home, Fiorenzo Magni, and his compatriot Ezio Cecchi.
On the other two Grand Tours, the smallest distances are even smaller. American Greg LeMond won the 1989 Tour de France by just eight seconds over local Laurent Fignon, while Frenchman Éric Caritoux won the 1984 Vuelta by just six seconds over Spaniard Alberto Fernandez Blanco.
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