{"id":192856,"date":"2023-05-29T09:29:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T09:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=192856"},"modified":"2023-05-29T09:29:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T09:29:08","slug":"rain-covid-and-redemption-for-primoz-roglic-at-the-giro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2023\/05\/29\/rain-covid-and-redemption-for-primoz-roglic-at-the-giro\/","title":{"rendered":"Rain, Covid and Redemption for Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d at the Giro"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story about the 2023 Giro d\u2019Italia was going to be about the rain, the crashes and the Covid cases of the first two weeks. It was going to highlight the many withdrawals from the race because of injury or illness (51 in total, including pre-race favourite Remco Evenepoel and the in-form Ineos rider Tao Geoghan Hart) and the three crashes by Evenepoel (Soudal\u2013Quick-Step), especially the one involving a little dog, and it was going to refer to the disappointing lack of excitement provided by the remaining GC contenders, even on the big mountain stages of the final week.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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But all that was rendered superfluous in 44 minutes and 23 seconds, the time it took Jumbo-Visma\u2019s Primoz Rogli\u010d to ride the 18.6-kilometre time trial from Tarvisio to the top of the Monte Lussari in the penultimate stage 20 and turn a forgettable Grand Tour into a memorable one and, at the same time, banish a ghost from his past. I think even the most cynical cycling fan will long remember the 33-year-old Slovenian\u2019s magnificent ride up Monte Lussari, 7.3 cruel km at 12.3%, with ramps up to 22%. That ride included a dropped chain that caused him to lose precious seconds on the climb and must have brought back dark memories of his stage 20 mountain time trial in the 2020 Tour de France when a slow bike change contributed to his losing the lead and the Tour to his compatriot Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates).<\/p>\n

But this time, Rogli\u010d\u00a0stayed cool, repaired the chain himself in seconds and continued taking time from race leader Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) as he powered up the mountain. When he crossed the finish line, he had turned a 26-second deficit into a 14-second Giro victory, his first maglia rosa<\/em>and the fourth Grand Tour GC victory of his career. He said it had helped that the road up to the Monte Lussari summit was lined with fellow Slovenians cheering him on. \u201cThe people gave me extra watts,\u201d he said. I think Rogli\u010d\u00a0also had a winning plan. Teammate Sepp Kuss told Eurosport that the team had been confident because Rogli\u010d\u00a0had been waiting all Giro long \u201cfor the right moment.\u201d That suggests that he didn\u2019t attack on the preceding mountain stages because he wanted to conserve his energy for the time trial.<\/p>\n

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\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 #Giro<\/a> <\/p>\n

Vincitore del Giro d'Italia \ud83d\udc9e pic.twitter.com\/W9NN7r9IYY<\/a><\/p>\n

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) May 29, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n