Giro d'Italia 2024, Tadej Pogačar wins in Oropa!

Double shot by Tadej Pogačar in the second stage of the Giro d’Italia 2024. The UAE Team Emirates leader attacked with just over four kilometers to go and quickly pulled away from everyone to solo victory at the Sanctuary of Oropa, dealing a first major blow to his rivals. Behind him, after a tight battle, it is Daniel Martinez (Bora-hansgrohe) who takes second position, regulating a small group of chasers at the sprint, with Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) in third. The Welshman is thus second in the overall standings at 45 seconds, in the same time as the Colombian.

The Stage narrative

After the first attempts quickly caught, it didn’t take long before the day’s breakaway was formed, which included five Italian riders: the unfailing Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè), ready to claim his Maglia Ciclamino, his teammate Martin Marcellusi, Andrea Piccolo (EF Education – EasyPost), Christian Scaroni (Astana Qazaqstan Team) and Davide Bais (Team Polti Kometa), who relaunched an earlier action reabsorbed by the peloton.

Taking advantage of the power plays among the big boys’ teams, these five men gained a maximum lead of 4’35”, before a fairly disinterested Ineos Grenadiers from the action came the UAE Team Emirates to lend support. The intervention of the most anticipated formation came at the halfway point of the stage, with Rui Oliveira taking charge and quickly beginning to close in on the leading men, halving the gap by the time we began to enter the final 70 kilometers.

At that stage, evidently more nervous for the peloton, comes an early crash involving Eddie Dunbar, Filippo Zana (Team Jayco AlUla), Nicola Conci (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), with the Irish climber and the Dutch sprinter appearing the most affected, climbing back on their bikes after a few minutes to recover.

Meanwhile, up front, Fiorelli took advantage of the intermediate sprints to pick up more points and secure the cyclamen jersey. But after the Intergiro it was Piccolo who stretched to the lead, starting solo on the first GPM of the day, Oasi Zegna. Quickly left on his own, the EF Education – EasyPost rider makes the gap on his former companions, with Fiorelli the first to rise up to not expend too much energy, while the UAE Team Emirates further ups the pace in the peloton.
Piccolo’s solo raid thus inevitably collides with the ambitions of Tadej Pogačar, and his ambitions for glory quickly fade. Managing to hold on to 1’30” until the foot of the Oropa climb, the now last escapee knows he has a short life and does not seem to be damning his soul to resist the return of a group into which the big favorite himself has meanwhile quickly re-entered, who after a puncture and slight ensuing crash was well escorted by his companions in the leading positions to get back very quickly.

After Ineos Grenadiers took control in view of the Flying Sprint, the Emirati formation took back the reins on the final climb, shattering the peloton. Perfectly launched by the work of his teammates, with Rafal Majka still a splendid last man, Pogačar, attacked with 4.2 kilometers to go and was almost immediately alone, just long enough to send a Ben O’Connor (Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale) out of the peloton and blatantly asking too much of his body.

Caught up first by Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), then by Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma|Lease a Bike) who takes the other GC contenders with him, the Australian in fact struggles to follow when a rediscovered Florian Lipowitz (Bora-hansgrohe) alternates in his sprints with his captain Daniel Martinez. The Colombian will then be able to regulate a small group that selects itself further in the finale, taking second ahead of Thomas and Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana Qazaqstan), who puts Lipowitz behind.

In front of them, untouchable, Tadej Pogačar dominates and manages himself in his action, reaching a maximum lead of just over thirty seconds, slightly dropped by the time of the finish as they do battle behind and set up a real sprint.