Primoz Roglic became the first Slovenian to win the Giro d’Italia by retaining the overall lead after the twenty-first and final round on Sunday May 28, in Rome, one day after he defeated Geraint Thomas of the pink jersey. ‘ in a dramatic race against time. Meanwhile, the British Mark Cavendish joined as the protagonist of the day by winning the sprint in the Italian capital, the last partial victory of the edition.
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The cyclist Cousin Roglic, 33, seized the ‘pink jersey’ with a powerful performance on Saturday’s penultimate stage and finished unscathed on the ceremonial 126km flat course on Sunday May 28, when Britain’s Mark Cavendish won the stage in his last appearance in the Giro.
The Jumbo-Visma athlete finished 14 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas and one minute and 15 seconds ahead of Joao Almeida – the Portuguese who competes with the United Arab Emirates team – in the general classification to add his first Giro d’Italia title to his three wins in the Vuelta a España, between 2019 and 2021.
Intoxicated with happiness, Roglic savored a victory with redeeming value, three years after his traumatic failure in the Tour de France.
In 2020, the Slovenian had lost that title after ceding the lead and overall race victory to compatriot Tadej Pogacar in a mountain time trial on the penultimate stage.
“I will remember this turn for the rest of my life”
It looked as if Roglic’s title hopes were evaporating again when he hit a pothole midway through Saturday’s brutal climb of Monte Lussari and his chain came loose, before losing more time he was forced to change. of bicycle.
But Roglic, cheered on by thousands of fans from across the border in Slovenia, rallied to take an overall lead of 14 seconds and made no mistake on the final stage, touring the Italian capital to expand his Grand Tour portfolio.
“I will remember this Giro for the rest of my life (…) I really enjoyed cycling through the streets of Rome, but I still hadn’t been able to realize what it means to win the Giro d’Italia. I tried to contain my emotions after what happened yesterday. Every win is special and I’m grateful to be able to get this one,” Roglic said.
The Slovenian cyclist was expected to face Remco Evenepoel in the Giro of the year, but the Belgian was forced to withdraw from the competition while leading after the ninth stage, due to testing positive for Covid-19.
Evenepoel, Filippo Ganna and Tao Geoghegan Hart were among the high-profile withdrawals at a Giro plagued by bad weather, accidents and coronavirus. Only 125 riders remained heading into the final week, 51 fewer than the 176 who started the race.
cavendish obtained the last partial victory of the edition
The British athlete, who will retire at the end of the season, avoided a crash down the stretch to take a sprint win, earning his first win for Astana Qazaqstan and the 17th Giro win of his career.
The 38-year-old was cheered on by his teammates and fellow Briton Thomas as he took his first win of the season.
“I’m super happy… My guys did incredible. My friends did incredible. It’s quite emotional,” said Cavendish, whose first Grand Tour stage win was at the 2008 Giro.
“Winning here in Rome is unbelievable. That’s a wish list sprint, to be able to win outside the Colosseum.”
Cavendish, who has 34 Tour de France stage wins, will try to improve on Belgian Eddy Merckx’s record for most career wins at next July’s competition.
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