Historical: Roglic is on the verge of overall Giro victory

The Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic caused an upset at the top of the rankings on the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia.

27 May 2023

From: dpa/dl

The former ski jumper prevailed on Saturday in the final mountain time trial not far from his home from Tarvisio to Monte Lussari and snatched the leader's pink jersey from the British Geraint Thomas. This means that the jumbo professional will probably become the first Slovenian to secure an overall Giro victory in Rome on Sunday.

Roglic overcame a mechanical problem not far from his Slovenian homeland when his chain jumped out on a bump shortly before the finish and he stood still for a few seconds. “People gave me extra watts,” said the 33-year-old in the first interview. “It ain’t over until it’s over. But it looks good,” he said, referring to the final stage in Rome. “The round is pretty tough.”

Roglic's lead before the final day is 14 seconds over Thomas and 1:15 minutes over the Portuguese Joao Almeida, who also took third place in the mountain time trial. On the last attack there are traditionally no more attacks on the overall leader.