Tadej Pogačar gained more time on his GC rivals in the Giro d’Italia stage 14 time trial and hinted at being aggressive on the Queen stage 15 to Livigno on Sunday. The overall race leader insisted that he can only land a knockout punch, and so be crowned as the undisputed Corsa Rosa winner next Saturday, after the final mountain stage to Bassano del Grappa.
Pogačar was 29 seconds slower than Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) on the 31.2km rolling course between Castiglione delle Stiviere and Desenzano del Garda but gained more time on Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Dani Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe) to extend his lead to 3:41 and 3:56 respectively.
It is a huge margin but the Slovenian is not taking anything for granted. He has perhaps seen the rain, snow and cold weather forecast for the third week in the high mountains of northern Italy and knows the hardest stages are still to come.
“The final knockout punch should be on Monte Grappa in Bassano. It's the last hard mountain stage, it’s a brutal stage,” Pogačar said.
“The Giro is not wrapped up, let's not discount anything, the real Giro started today. I gained time but you never know what happens in the mountains, with rain and snow or whatever. Let's touch wood and hope for the best.
“If you can take the time, you do. It's better to be safer than sorry and to have a bigger gap going into the big mountains. For sure, we can be more comfortable and more confident going into the next few days."
Pogačar shared the Giro d’Italia winner’s pie with Ganna on Saturday but hinted he may not be so generous on Sunday at the Mottolino ski station that overlooks Livigno at 2,385 metres. The 222km stage also includes the early Colle San Zeno climb north of Brescia and then the steep Mortirolo 70 km from the finish.
Pogačar rightly called it the queen stage of the 2024 Giro d’Italia, even if there are other long, multi-mountain days to come in the final week.
“Our plan will be simple, to go as hard as possible with as many teammates as possible,” he said with a mix of bravado to scare his rivals and natural confidence.
“It's the queen stage. We probably want to go for the stage, but it depends on the breakaway and what others want to do. We should focus on our own race, and it should all be okay.”
'Gourmet shit' carbo loading
Pogačar prepared for the 222km stage into the high Alps by starting his carbo loading as he waited for Ganna to finish his post-stage press conference. He scoffed on a huge portion of pasta covered in some kind of sauce, which he jokingly described as ‘gourmet shit’.
It definitely wasn't his preferred homemade pasta carbonara, but it was needed after a short but intense effort on his time trial bike.
“If I don’t look exhausted, then something would be wrong,” Pogačar said, insisting he is human like every other rider in the Giro d’Italia.
“Even the guys that went slow today are tired. It was a 36-minute effort, with a long day before with the recon ride and the warm-up. It's at the end of the second week, so you're tired.”
Pogačar’s fatigue showed during the final part of the time trial on the flat roads to the edge of Lake Garda.
He had set similar times to Ganna on the climb out of the start area and through the rolling vineyards but then gradually lost second after second. He avoided taking any risks, lost 29 seconds to Ganna but was happy to still gain time on his GC rivals.
“Pippo created a really big gap from the last intermediate time check to the finish. He put up a really great pace, and that's where it suited him,” Pogačar said, explaining their 29-second difference.
“I tried to do the opposite; the first part, the hard part, was more suited to me because it was more up and down, left and right. I really enjoyed the first part but then the last 12km or so wasn’t really great for me. I just tried to maintain the power, not to really kill myself.
“After the last intermediate, I knew it was going to be hard to beat Pippo, even if I suddenly found magic legs but this doesn't happen in cycling. He was much stronger in the final.”
A constant search for perfection
Pogačar is now playing the long game in the Giro d'Italia. He may be going against his natural aggressive instinct, but he is thinking of overall victory in Rome next Sunday and then a historic Giro-Tour double in France in July.
His time trial performance is a consequence of the hard work done in the wind tunnel and with his equipment sponsors. He has made mistakes along the way but seems comfortable and powerful on his Colnago time trial bike.
He knows his time trial prowess is important in the Giro d’Italia and could be decisive in the Tour de France and the final hilly time trial on stage 21 around Nice.
“I'm really happy where I am. It's a really good spot for me now,” he said of his current set-up, which seems comfortable and performant.
“We improved the position before the World Championships last year, but then it was a bit too aggressive. It ruined my glutes and my head. So, since then, I was a little bit less aggressive, and I’ve worked on it. I work on my body physique and with every training ride that I do, it's better.
“I’m really satisfied with the direction we're going and with the improvement of my body, my position, my legs and my motivation. Now we just need to focus on every detail with the bike and everything for the Tour de France. We already have perfection, but only for now. Things will evolve and can always be improved.”
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