The 2024 Giro d'Italia is almost at an end, with only Sunday's finale in Rome – part-procession, part-sprint stage –before three weeks of racing at the first Grand Tour of the year draws to a close.
Of course, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) will be the rider coming to the end of his debut Giro with the fondest memories of the month. The maglia rosa rolls into the capital with nearly a 10-minute GC lead, having ridden a race of his own for the most part.
He'll also round off the first part of a potential Giro-Tour double with the maglia azzurra as mountain classification winner, and then there's the matter of those six stage wins – the most scored by any single rider in one edition of the race since Alessandro Petacchi's nine victories 20 years ago.
Pogačar's, likely, final stage win of the race came in the Veneto town of Bassano del Grappa, having once again taken off for a solo victory well ahead of any of his fellow GC contenders. He delivered a stinging attack over the famous Monte Grappa, catching and passing Giro revelation and breakaway survivor Giulio Pellizzari (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) along the way.
With his win over the mountain, Pogačar followed in the wheel tracks of Emilio Casalini, Eddy Merckx, Vincenzo Nibali, Nairo Quintana, and Thibaut Pinot. Meanwhile, his 9:56 margin of victory is the largest since Vittorio Adorni's in 1965.
Our photographers were on hand to capture history in the making on Monte Grappa.
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for all of our Grand Tour content and our premium member-only articles
Race leader Tadej Pogačar heads out to start the penultimate day of the race
The start of stage 20 was run in the wet, though things cleared up later on
Better conditions for Pogačar and the remainder of the peloton
The breakaway leads the race on Monte Grappa
Though the peloton wasn't far behind
UAE Team Emirates took charge of the peloton on the 184km stage
Team and race leader Pogačar was in their wheel
Colombian fans could celebrate Dani Martínez's impending second place overall
Riders tackle the steep slopes of Monte Grappa
Monte Grappa is rarely featured at the Giro d'Italia, though was most recently used in 2017
The tifosi will have been cheering on Italian champion Simone Velasco
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for all of our Grand Tour content and our premium member-only articles
Slovenian fans also made the short trip across the border to cheer on the race and their man Pogačar
Of course, there were plenty of fans decked out in Giro d'Italia pink
20-year-old Giulio Pellizzari was on the attack once more, impressing yet again on his Giro debut
But Pogačar put paid to the Italian's dreams on the second of two Monte Grappa ascents
Back down the mountain, home favourite Antonio Tiberi was racing to a top-five overall and claimed the white jersey of best young rider
Dani Martínez would battle on to claim second place overall in Rome
Geraint Thomas would have to settle for third place, one down on his 2023 finish
It was all fun and games for the fans on Monte Grapp
The only way is up on the final ascent of the 2024 Giro d'Italia
Not every rider was taking the ascent of Monte Grappa 100% seriously
As well as Jan Tratnik above, Thomas Champion also pulled a wheelie on the way up
The day, however, belonged to Pogačar
A celebratory bike lift for the stage and overall winner
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for all of our Grand Tour content and our premium member-only articles
