Geraint Thomas suffers Giro d’Italia heartbreak as he loses out to Primoz Roglic in final stage by just 14 seconds
GERAINT THOMAS suffered heartbreak as he lost out on Giro d’Italia glory by 14 seconds.
The former Tour de France champion was leading the race going into the penultimate stage, aiming to become the oldest winner of this Grand Tour.
AFPGeraint Thomas lost out on Giro d’Italia glory by 14 seconds[/caption]
APThe two rivals share their respect ahead of the stage[/caption]
Thomas, 37, held a 26-second lead over rival Primoz Roglic and had worn the coveted pink jersey since Tuesday.
But G finished 40 seconds behind Roglic in the mountain time trial so it will be the Slovenian who rides into Rome in pink tomorrow.
Cheered to victory by thousands of fans given its proximity to the Slovenian border, Roglic won the stage with gradients of 22% in a time of 44 minutes and 23 seconds.
The 33-year-old almost blew his chances after a mechanical issue caused him to lose about 15 seconds in the final kilometres.
He powered his way through and won the stage, with Thomas slowing and showing fatigue on the final climb.
It is a gut-wrenching end to the Giro for the Welshman, who had got the better of Roglic in several stages.
But he was gracious in defeat and congratulated Roglic after his monstrous performance.
Thomas said: “I’m getting emotional. I could feel my legs gong with a 1km from the top of that climb.
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“I’m not making excuses but I didn’t feel like I had that grunt. I guess it’s nice to lose by that much rather than a second or two because that would be worse.
“At least he smashed me. Primoz deserved that, he had a mechanical and still put 40 seconds into me. Chapeau to him.
“If you had told me this in February or March, I would have bitten your hand off but now I am devastated.
“With the season I have had, I can be proud of that. I am gutted for the boys, who have worked so hard.
“Another second place in the Giro for me. The Tour? Ha, I’m on the p*** now for the next two months!”
Winner-elect Roglic said: “This is amazing. The energy here was incredible. Moments to live and remember.
“I dropped the chain. It’s part of cycling. I put it back and I restarted. For sure, I didn’t want this to happen. I put the chain back on.
“I had the legs and the people give me extra watts. I have enjoyed this.
“One more day to go, one more focus, because the lap is quite technically hard. It is not over until it is finished. It looks good.”
APThomas was seconds away from becoming the oldest ever Giro winner[/caption]
APRoglic overcame a mechanical to claim his first Giro title[/caption]
Thomas even beat Roglic by 16 seconds in stage nine’s time trial, but did not have the legs when it mattered most on the climb to Monte Lussari.
The Giro will conclude with Sunday’s procession stage into Rome, with Roglic set to wear the maglia rosa for the first time in this edition of the race.
Barring a complete disaster, Roglic has deprived 2018 Tour de France champion Thomas in the most heart-breaking fashion.
The Eternal City will provide a glorious backdrop to a gladiatorial battle between two legendary cyclists and the finish line is at the Colosseum.
Roglic now adds the Giro to his star-studded palmares, having also won the Vuelta a Espana on three occasions.
He also knows what it is like to suffer heartbreak in a final time trial, having lost out on the 2020 Tour de France to Tadej Pogacar in similar circumstances.
