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Heartbreak for Geraint Thomas as Primož Roglič seals sensational Giro d’Italia win despite dropping chain during dramatic time trial

Despite suffering a mechanical halfway up Monte Lussari, Roglič still managed to secure a thrilling stage win and the pink jersey – and redefine his career in the process

Primož Roglič finally banished his time trialling demons on a dramatic day at the Giro d’Italia, overcoming an untimely and seemingly catastrophic mechanical halfway up the brutal Monte Lussari to secure a dominant stage win and wrest the pink jersey off the shoulders of a heartbroken Geraint Thomas.

The Jumbo-Visma rider – who dramatically lost the lead of the 2020 Tour de France during a penultimate day mountain time trial – completed the ride of his life to beat the Ineos Grenadiers leader, on the cusp of becoming the oldest ever Giro winner, by 40 seconds on the day, and by just 14 seconds overall, to fittingly and thrillingly cap a grand tour defined by the tightest of margins.

Those tight margins couldn’t have been clearer than when Roglič was forced to step off his bike after dropping his chain on a rough section of the steep final climb, while leading Thomas (who still managed to finish second on the stage) by 16 seconds.

But while his Jumbo-Visma teammates stared in shock at the screen in a scene eerily reminiscent of that 2020 time trial on La Planche des Belles Filles, the Slovenian – three years older and wiser – continued unrattled and unshaken to take the greatest victory of his career, and secure his first ever Giro d’Italia win.

Roglic suffers mechanical during Giro d'Italia stage 20 (GCN)

“It’s just amazing. It’s not just about the win itself, but the people. The energy here is just incredible,” Roglič, who was roared on up Monte Lussari by throngs of his fellow Slovenians, who had crossed the border into Italy for the day, said at the finish. “These are moments to live, and to remember.”

Asked about his mechanical problem, the Jumbo-Visma rider said: “I dropped the chain. It’s part of it. I didn’t fear [losing] at all, I put it back, and I started and just went on. You don’t want these things to happen, but like I said, I put the chain back on.

“I had the legs and the people gave me extra watts. One day more to go and focus on. It’s not over until the finish, but it looks good.”

“I’m on the piss for the next two months!”

While the Jumbo-Visma camp erupted as Roglič stormed his way to the pink jersey, a much more sombre and reflective mood dominated the Ineos camp, forced to settle – after Richard Carapaz’s defeat last year – for another last-gasp near miss at the Giro, despite Geraint Thomas barely putting a foot wrong throughout the three weeks.

Geraint Thomas, stage 20 of the 2023 Giro d’Italia (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

“I could feel my legs going about a kilometre and a half from the top of the climb,” an emotional Thomas told GCN’s Adam Blythe at the finish. “I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses… I guess it’s nice to lose by that much, and not a second or two, because that would be worse, I think.

“At least he smashed me. Primož deserves that, he had a mechanical and he still put 40 seconds into me. So chapeau to him.

“If you’d told me this back in February, March, I’d have bitten your hand off, but now I’m devastated. But with the season I’ve had up to this point, I can be proud of that. Just gutted for the boys, they’ve worked so hard.”

When asked about his plans for the rest of the season, and a possible tilt at the Tour de France in July, Thomas replied in typical, sardonic fashion: “Mate, it’s over for me now. I’m on the piss for the next two months!”

Primož Roglič, redefined

It’s perhaps fitting that Primož Roglič’s redemption would be secured on a day, and at the end of a grand tour, so strikingly similar to the one that has defined, and haunted him, for almost three years.

Like the 2020 Tour de France, this Giro d’Italia was a slow burner, a race of marginal gains and cagey moves from the main GC contenders; where even in the seemingly decisive final week in the mountains, shifts in the pink jersey race – usually a cinematic experience – were inspected through a magnifying glass, every second counting, for drama’s sake at least.

Primož Roglič wins stage 20 of the 2023 Giro d’Italia (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Zac Williams/SWpix.com

Lucky for the Giro organisers then who, despite having to withstand the frustrated and bored cries echoing from the stalls for over two, grim, weather-affected weeks, got their wish of a repeat of La Planche des Belles Filles, with pink jersey Thomas, Roglič, and the slightly faltering João Almeida all in with a shout on Monte Lussari.

The ‘throw a blanket over them’ narrative of this year’s GC race even continued on the flat, rolling part of today’s time trial, as a handful of seconds separated the leading trio just after the crucial bike change.

It was there, in that 25 metre zone of nerves and panic, that Roglič began to flip the story etched into his career, seemingly for good.

For two and a half years, and like Laurent Fignon before him, he’s been the guy who lost the Tour in the final TT, not the guy who’s won three Vueltas.

But in that bike change zone, the Slovenian was smooth, calm. Thomas, meanwhile, lost time by choosing to switch from his time trial lid to a more breathable road one for the furnace of that shockingly steep final climb.

It didn’t decide the outcome of the final Giro, but Thomas did ship precious seconds to his rival in that one section where he stood painfully still. Just like 2020, helmets became a talking point, an aesthetic distraction from the blunt sporting force taking place further up the road.

But then, just as it all began to hang in the balance, the ghosts that have haunted Roglič returned for one last bit of mischief. A bump in the road, a dropped chain, teammates’ hands flying up in the air in pained exasperation – the unthinkable was happening again.

But this was a different Primož Roglič from the one who collapsed in full view of the world in September 2020. As he said in his typically nonchalant post-race interview, he simply put the chain back on, got pushed on his way, and returned, calm as you like, to bludgeoning his way up the mountain.

Behind, Geraint Thomas – whose passage through this Giro was as serene as it was unexpected – began to wither in the Italian heat and the Slovenian atmosphere, but importantly didn’t collapse. The Welshman, as the clock ticked by with no remorse, still managed second on the stage, 40 seconds behind Roglič and two ahead of Almeida.

Just like the new pink jersey way back when, Thomas was simply the victim of a once in a lifetime performance, one that will come to define this chaotic and confusing Giro d’Italia and, no doubt, redefine its winner.

Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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20 comments

Avatar
Paul J | 9 months ago
0 likes

Geraint rode a fantastic TT, there was nothing else he could have done. Roglic was just on another level to everyone else that day. He just had _bags_ more power than everyone else.

Avatar
dreamlx10 | 9 months ago
1 like

One of the best things about Roglic winning is not having to watch the butchers apron being flown at the finish

Avatar
Simon E replied to dreamlx10 | 9 months ago
1 like
dreamlx10 wrote:

One of the best things about Roglic winning is not having to watch the butchers apron being flown at the finish

Should be replaced by the Welsh dragon (y ddraig goch) IMHO anyway. Let England have their St George's cross and sing Jerusalem instead of GSTK.

Thomas looked to be pushing too big a gear on the climb while Roglič did his high cadence spinning. Roglič, who is about 6 kg lighter than G, had used a single ring with 10-44 cassette on the previous stage to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Cycling Weekly wrote about it here.

Larry Warbasse said he used 39x34 (~30"), which he said was too big. With a 7 km climb on a less than smooth surface and gradients of 15 - 20% and 22% ramps I'm surprised he even attempted using a gear that big.

Apparently the spectator in red who gave Roglic a push after his chain drop was his former ski-jumping teammate Mitja Mežnar.

Avatar
Dogless replied to Simon E | 9 months ago
2 likes

I'd like to see the banner of Owain Glyndwr rather than y ddraig goch, tbh.

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hawkinspeter replied to Dogless | 9 months ago
0 likes
Dogless wrote:

I'd like to see the banner of Owain Glyndwr rather than y ddraig goch, tbh.

Probably not as recognisable for us non-Welsh though

Avatar
Dogless replied to hawkinspeter | 9 months ago
0 likes

Even more reason to use it 😬

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ErnieC replied to Dogless | 9 months ago
0 likes
Dogless wrote:

I'd like to see the banner of Owain Glyndwr rather than y ddraig goch, tbh.

I had to go and look that up and can only agree with you. Quite a handsome Coat of Arms as well. 

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to dreamlx10 | 9 months ago
1 like
dreamlx10 wrote:

One of the best things about Roglic winning is not having to watch the butchers apron being flown at the finish

What a very petty response to a splendid contest between two excellent riders. As an avid fan of road racing I want to see the best, most adventurous, most skilled riders win, I couldn't care less about what flag is flown at the finish. Indeed I'd be happy to see no national flags flown at the finish, given that cycling is a sport contested by international teams most of which have a wide range of nationalities on their roster.

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trinityboy replied to dreamlx10 | 9 months ago
0 likes

You seem 'nice'

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ErnieC | 9 months ago
3 likes

Fantastic ride by Roglic specially after dropping his chain on that insane climb

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Clem Fandango | 9 months ago
8 likes

Incredible ride from Roglic. Gutted for G but what a reaction after the race. Absolute legend.

Chapeau to every one of the riders for surviving so far. Cav still there!

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Rendel Harris replied to Clem Fandango | 9 months ago
2 likes

Sprint tomorrow...why not eh?!

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Clem Fandango replied to Rendel Harris | 9 months ago
2 likes

Oh yeeeeaaaaaahhhh

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Rendel Harris | 9 months ago
7 likes

Chapeau to both Primoz and G. Not taking anything away from Primoz to wonder how much more G might have had in the legs for today if he'd had the services of Geoghan Hart and Sivakov in the last few stages rather than having to do so much himself. Podium in a GT at 37 though, pretty good.

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stonojnr replied to Rendel Harris | 9 months ago
3 likes

Tao was the Ineos GC rider aim, G was the backup

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Rendel Harris replied to stonojnr | 9 months ago
2 likes
stonojnr wrote:

Tao was the Ineos GC rider aim, G was the backup

I think they were more joint leaders but fair point in general, I'm thinking if G had got in pink and so Tao had been asked to support him. Even riding turn and turn about in the mountains as equals would have saved G a lot of energy.

Avatar
Verycroix | 9 months ago
8 likes

I have so enjoyed Geraint's career. Alpe d'Huez a personal favourite. This Giro fantastic until the bittersweet end. If this is his swansong, then what a way to end. His interview with Adam Blythe sums up his sportsmanship and character. Great cyclist.

Avatar
Miller | 9 months ago
7 likes

G deserves a beer or three for that, he's had a fantastic giro. Gutted for him today.

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emjay49 replied to Miller | 9 months ago
4 likes

Same. He rode out of his skin past few weeks well above expectations....hope this gives confidence for more. Chapeau

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mitchibob replied to emjay49 | 9 months ago
2 likes

Really hope he has another crack the Vuelta or something. He's been supreme ambassador to cycling. Absolutely gutted today, but what an incredible performance again at grand tour, only weaker moment, still came 2nd in the stage, although UCI could maybe just ban less that 1:1 gear ratios for World-Tour races, nullify Roglic win, and give it back to G. Slightly heart-broken we didn't get to see the likes of Remco in that final TT too, although, think it might've been stage win attempt than Maglia Rosa.

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