Roglic lifts the Giro d’Italia trophy in Rome; Cavendish wins final stage
ROME: Primoz Roglic expanded his Grand Tour portfolio by winning the Giro d’Italia on Sunday to add to his three Spanish Vuelta titles; while Mark Cavendish won the 21st and final stage less than a week after announcing that he will retire at the end of the season.
Roglic, a former ski jumper, became the first Slovenian rider to win the Giro and he did it in dramatic fashion, claiming the lead in the penultimate stage — taking the pink jersey from Geraint Thomas in Saturday’s mountain time trial.
It was the direct opposite of what happened in the 2020 Tour de France, when fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogacar took the lead from Roglic in another penultimate-day mountain time trial.
During the podium celebration, Roglic’s son, Lev, joined him on the stage and seemed more excited than his dad.
“I’m trying to enjoy all the emotions, and everything that happened yesterday,” Roglic said. “At the end, it’s always nice to win, in this spectacular city ... all these amazing buildings, it’s super beautiful.”
Riding a pink bike and wearing a pink helmet and pink socks, Roglic took it easy during the mostly ceremonious final stage, a 135-kilometer (84-mile) leg through the cobblestoned streets of Rome that concluded next to the Roman Forum.
Cavendish claimed the 54th Grand Tour stage win of his career.
“I couldn’t end my racing career in Italy any better than winning in the Giro d’Italia in Rome,” Cavendish said. “It’s really perfect.”
Roglic, who rides for the Jumbo-Visma team, finished 14 seconds ahead of Thomas and 1 minute, 15 seconds ahead of Joao Almeida in the overall standings.
It’s the smallest finishing gap between the top riders in the Giro since Eddy Merckx won by 12 seconds ahead of Gianbattista Baronchelli in 1974.