Tadej Pogacar made short work of the competition in the Giro, which ended this Sunday, May 16. The Slovenian put more than 9 minutes ahead of his runner-up in the general, Daniel Martinez. Results which allow him to envisage a double with the Tour de France this summer.
4 mins
Veni, vidi, vici: after three weeks flying over the Tour of Italy, Tadej Pogacar entered the eternal city like a Roman emperor on Sunday to celebrate his success and already turn towards his next objective: the Tour de France. Six stage victories, as many as the great Eddy Merckx in 1973, an abysmal lead over his runner-up Daniel Martinez in the general, 9 min 56 sec, the biggest gap since 1965, and an impression of disconcerting ease, at the risk of a certain boredom: the Slovenian dominated the Giro from start to finish, taking the pink jersey on the second day to bring it to the foot of the Colosseum on Sunday.
This triumph from his first Giro adds a new piece to his collection of trophies which is growing day by day: at only 25 years old, the ogre from Komenda already has 77 successes including two Tours de France, six Monuments and a string of other classics and stage races. More than ever, he is following in the footsteps of Merckx, the greatest runner of all time with whom he shares the same gluttonous appetite. At the Giro, no one came close to him until the last stage, won by the Belgian Tim Merlier in a sprint.
Daniel Martinez has finally confirmed in a Grand Tour and will be a luxury lieutenant for Primoz Roglic at the Tour de France. Geraint Thomas, a valiant third at 38, held on, but without the slightest illusion against Pogacar, “ the best runner I have raced against and yet I have known some good ones “.
The double in the viewfinder
Pogacar can now devote himself to the second part of his great challenge: winning the Giro and the Tour de France in the same year, which has not been achieved since Marco Pantani in 1998. On the other hand, he has ruled out participating in the Tour de France. Spain, preferring to target the World Championships in Zurich at the end of September, another big objective. “ Obviously he can do the Giro-Tour double. He is so strong. I am proud to be his teammate », Launched the Austrian Felix Grosschartner. “ Tadej ? It’s Superman », summarized Rafal Majka, his faithful lieutenant at UAE.
Some were worried in the run-up to the Tour de France (June 29-July 21) about the state of fatigue of “Pogi” after three weeks scrapping in Italy in sometimes complicated weather conditions. A priori, there is nothing to fear, because he still looked very fresh on Sunday, dressed all in pink in the streets of Rome. Certainly, he was not particularly economized in Italy – “ he can’t stop racing », noted Romain Bardet, 9th overall – and on Saturday evening, Pogacar spoke of “ three difficult weeks » where he was a little ill, sometimes slept poorly and had to respond to countless requests.
“ Next to him we seem so slow »
But he also estimated to finish “ in good shape ” and with ” morale high » before enjoying a few days of rest, then leaving for an altitude course at Isola 2000. « This victory at the Giro gives me great momentum for the Tour de France “, he assures. Of the four “fantastic”, it is clearly he who presents the most guarantees four weeks before the Tour.
Outgoing double winner, Jonas Vingegaard has just returned to training after his multiple fractures at the Tour of the Basque Country, while Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, injured in the same fall, will only return to competition next Sunday at the Critérium du Dauphiné. As it stands, Pogacar is favorite to become the eighth rider to complete the Giro-Tour double in the same year (after Pantani, Indurain, Roche, Hinault, Merckx, Anquetil and Coppi) and continue his duel at a distance with the legends of the past , under the often helpless gaze of his contemporaries.
“ Jonah (Vingegaard) is the only one to evolve at the same level as him, but we have to see how he will be (on the Tour de France), analyzed Geraint Thomas. It’s insane how talented he is. So versatile, aggressive, all year round. Next to him we seem so slow “.