Geraint Thomas or Primoz Roglic - Who will win and where will Giro d'Italia 2023 be decided?

Primoz Roglic looks the biggest threat to Geraint Thomas’ dream of winning the Giro d’Italia after an improved performance on Stage 18, but The Breakaway team remain unconvinced he can topple the Welshman. Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) extended his lead in the general classification to 29 seconds on Thursday after following the resurgent Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) to the line, with Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) slipping from second to third after losing ground on his two big rivals. Ad The day began with Jens Voigt writing off Roglic’s hopes, suggesting the best he could hope for was third after he failed to stick with Almeida and Thomas on Stage 16.

But after briefly doubling down on his comments, Voigt soon rowed back and praised the three-time Vuelta champion for hanging tough. Giro d'ItaliaHow to watch Stage 19 of the Giro as Thomas bids to hold off Roglic5 HOURS AGO “I didn’t think Roglic would be strong enough, but he is still in the fight. He is a bit less explosive, but he proved me wrong and is still in the game,” said Voigt.

“If Geraint has any mishap, dropping the chain, puncture in a bad moment or just not feeling 100%, 30 seconds can be quick to lose. So it’s far from over but at the moment it all looks very good for Geraint Thomas.” Jumbo-Visma took the initiative on the Cat. 2 ascent of Coi, the day’s penultimate climb, when Sepp Kuss came to the front and blew the 21-strong pink jersey group apart to tee up a Roglic attack.