Team Ineos’ Thomas takes the lead in Giro d’Italia 2023 with a commanding individual time trial ahead
Britain’s Geraint Thomas to Defend Lead in Exciting Final Stage of Giro d’Italia
As the Giro d’Italia comes to a close, Britain’s Geraint Thomas is preparing to defend his 26-second lead over Slovenian Primoz Roglic in Saturday’s individual time trial. This follows Santiago Buitrago’s victory on stage 19 of the race, with Canada’s Derek Gee coming in second for the fourth time.
The general classification race was brought back into contention during the final two kilometers of the mountainous course from Longarone to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. In an exciting finish, Roglic cut Thomas’ overall advantage by three seconds at the last few meters but still crossed third-placed Magnus Cort.
Roglic made a strategic decision to change bikes during the race and opted for one that had low gears specifically designed for mountain-top finishes. The move appeared to pay off as he and Thomas were able to distance Portugal’s Joao Almeida who finished twenty seconds behind and now trails by 59 seconds in his quest for Maglia Rosa.
All eyes are now set on Saturday’s decisive mountain time trial which will be an intense 18.6km run between Tarvisio and Monte Lussari featuring most of its 1,050 meters climb including a ramp up of almost 19% towards the end of its route. With everything finely balanced going into this crucial stage anything can happen!
Giro d’Italia Final Standings after Stage Nineteen:
- Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) – clocking in at 81hrs 55mins47sec
- Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) – only 26 seconds behind Thomas
- Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) – now trailing by 59 seconds
- Damiano Caruso (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) – finished at 4mins 11secs from the lead
- Eddie Dunbar (Ire/Team Jayco AIula) : +4mins53secs from the leader.
The Giro d’Italia will conclude on Sunday with a processional stage around Rome, but before that, we’re all looking forward to witnessing an exciting battle between Thomas and Roglic during Saturday’s final mountain time trial. Stay tuned for more updates as it happens!