Entering a Chaotic Era
Tadej Pogačar is going to win the Giro, but we're going to have some fun along the way
With the Giro d’Italia starting with a punchy finish on Stage 1, I was wondering if Tadej Pogačar would be able to hold the maglia rosa from wire to wire. Not exactly. Pogačar finished with the leading group but came third in the sprint. He had to wait another 24 hours—through a crash, no less—to take a stage win and the race lead on Santuario di Oropa.
Pogačar put 27 seconds, plus bonuses, into Geraint Thomas and Dani Martínez, and a minute into Ben O’Connor. The GC battle—such as it is, with only one mountain stage under the riders’ belts—has never been static, but it’s always favored the young Slovenian.
But the racing has never been boring. On Friday I expressed the hope that the startlist, while light on threats to the race favorite, would lead to interesting stage-by-stage battles, and so it has come to pass.