After winning the Girot’s toughest stage, the so-called queen’s stage, with the finish in Mottolino (Livigno) among snow-covered mountain peaks at an altitude of 2,385 meters, the Slovenian faithfully sat down on the test bike and got the lactic acid out of his legs after 222 km and over six hours in the saddle while the distanced competitors laboriously made their way to the finish line.
– It’s one of my best days, maybe not the very best, and we’ve had this stage in mind since December, says Pogacar, who now leads overall by 6.41 ahead of Geraint Thomas in Eurosport’s broadcast.
Left the group with 14 km to go
Pogacar was part of the pack which for a while was more than five minutes behind the lead. With 14 km to go uphill towards the finish in the alpine resort where the cross-country skiers are often in high-altitude camps, Pogacar kicked off with a powerful push, passing skier after skier.
– I hoped it would last and just barely got out of there, says Pogacar, who took his fourth stage victory in the competition in his debut.
With two kilometers to go, he passed leader Nairo Quintana. Ten years ago, a then 15-year-old Pogacar cheered the Colombian on to his first overall victory in the Girot.
Now a rest day awaits before the highest peak, 2,498 meters, on this year’s Giro is passed on Tuesday’s stage, the so-called Cima Coppi.
The race finishes in Rome next Sunday.