A Slovenian Super Cyclist Wins a Prestigious Race in Italy with the Largest Gap in Half a Century
Slovenian cycling sensation Tadej Pogačar won his debut multi-day cycling race, the Giro d'Italia, which concluded in Rome on May 26th. The 25-year-old rider from UAE Team Emirates clinched victory with a massive lead of 9 minutes and 56 seconds, marking the best performance since Italian Vittorio Adorni in 1965, as reported by The Slovenian Times.
Having won the Tour de France twice in 2020 and 2021, and also securing third place in the Vuelta a España in 2019, Pogačar has now graced podiums in all three Grand Tours—the most prestigious road cycling races in the world. His tally of victories in major international races has now risen to 77, with 14 of them achieved just this year. Due to this, Pogacar is hailed as one of the most talented and versatile cyclists in the history of the sport.
"I have no words, it's hard to describe... There will be many pleasant memories, but I think over time, I'll figure out which one is my favourite. Overall, it was a really beautiful Giro. It was an incredible experience," said Pogacar after finishing the race in Rome.
Tadej Pogačar claimed the pink leader's jersey as early as the second stage of the Giro d'Italia, surpassing Ecuadorian rider Jonathan Narvaez from INEOS Grenadiers in the general classification. Maintaining his lead over the next four days, Pogacar then dominated his competitors at the first "split," beating two-time world champion in the discipline, Filippo Ganna, by 17 seconds.
Later, Pogacar also won the first full-fledged mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia. In the final week of the race, he secured victories on two more stages—on the last mountain stage, he outpaced second-placed rider in the general classification, Dani Martinez from Bora-Hansgrohe, by two minutes, extending his lead over pursuers to 9 minutes and 56 seconds. Finally, on the ceremonial stage in Rome, he officially confirmed his victory at the Giro with a lead of nearly 10 minutes.
Recall that The Gaze reported that the authorities in the Italian city of Florence allocated 1.2 million euros to a special program to encourage drivers to use bicycles instead of cars. The program, starting on June 3rd and lasting a year, aims to "promote a shift in transportation habits towards more sustainable and healthy modes of transport."