PrimoĆŸ RogliÄ all but secured the Giro dâItalia title on Saturday by overtaking leader Geraint Thomas on the penultimate stage despite having a mechanical problem on the mountain time trial.
RogliÄ started the stage 26 seconds behind Thomas â who was trying to become the oldest Giro champion in history â but finished the route 40 seconds quicker than the British cyclist after the demanding climb of the Monte Lussari.
That saw RogliÄ move into the leaderâs pink jersey, 14 seconds ahead of Thomas going into the raceâs mainly ceremonial final stage.
RogliÄ was cheered on all the way by thousands of fans from just across the border to his native Slovenia. They packed the slopes of the brutal ascent up Monte Lussari, which had an elevation of more than 3,000 feet and gradients of up to 22%.
The 33-year-old RogliÄ celebrated at the end with his wife and son, who was wearing a replica of the pink jersey.
âJust something amazing, eh? Itâs not at the end about the win itself, but about the people, and the energy here, so incredible, really moments to live and to remember,â said RogliÄ, who had tears in his eyes during the post-stage television interview, which he did with his son in his arms.
It will be a fourth Grand Tour victory for RogliÄ, who won the Spanish Vuelta three years in a row from 2019-2021
RogliÄ also almost won the Tour de France in 2020, when he was leading going into another mountain time trial on the penultimate stage. But that time it was RogliÄ who lost time and the race to compatriot Tadej PogaÄar in one of the most memorable upsets in a Grand Tour in recent years.
It appeared as if the Jumbo-Visma cyclistâs hopes were evaporating again when he rode over a pothole about halfway through the brutal climb up Monte Lussari and his chain came off, meaning he had to quickly change bicycles.
His teammates and staff had their hands over their heads in disbelief.
Despite that setback, RogliÄ â who had been 16 seconds ahead of Thomas at the previous intermediate time check â went on to increase his advantage.
âI dropped the chain, I mean itâs part of it,â he said. âBut I got started again and I just went ⊠I had the legs, the people gave me extra (energy).â
The 33-year-old RogliÄ won the stage ahead of Thomas. Joao Almeida was third, 42 seconds slower.
For Thomas, his bad luck at the Giro continued. In 2017, he was involved in a crash caused by a police motorbike, and three years later he fractured his hip after a drinks bottle became lodged under his wheel â being forced to abandon both times.
Thomas turned 37 on Thursday. The Ineos Grenadiers cyclist had seemed poised to become the oldest Giro winner in history â beating the record of Fiorenzo Magni, who was 34 when he won in 1955.
âI could feel my legs going about a kilometer and a half from the top. I just didnât feel I had that real grunt,â Thomas said. âI guess itâs nice to lose by that much rather than a second or two, because that would be worse I think.
âAt least he smashed me and to be honest Primoz deserves that. He had a mechanical as well, still put 40 seconds into me so chapeau to him. If youâd told me this back in (February), March, I would have bit your hand off but now Iâm devastated.â
Thomas and RogliÄ exchanged fist bumps as they waited their turn to ride down the ramp at the start of the 11.6-mile time trial.
The Giro will finish in Rome on Sunday, with 10 laps of a seven-mile circuit through the streets of the capital, taking in many of its historic sites.
âOne more day to go, one more focus, because I think the lap is quite hard, technical. So itâs not over til itâs finished,â RogliÄ said. âBut looks good, voila.â
The route will pass by places such as the Altare della Patria, the Capitoline Hill, the Circus Maximus and finish at the Imperial Forums, in the shadow of the Colosseum.
The Tour de France starts July 1, airing on NBC Sports and Peacock.
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