SLOVENIAN RIDER TADEJ Pogacar won stage 7 of the Giro d’Italia, a 40-kilometre time trial, to extend his race lead in Perugia on Friday.
Pogacar, who had already won stage 2, finished 17 seconds ahead of Italian time-trial specialist Filippo Ganna and two minutes in front of his great rival, Welsh rider Geraint Thomas.
The UAE Team Emirates team leader is now 2min 36sec ahead of Colombian rider Daniel Martinez in the overall standings.
“I prepared well for this time trial and worked a lot on the time trials, my position on the time-trial bike,” said Pogacar.
“I felt good after the world championships last year, today was my first race on the time-trial bike again.
“It was a lot of preparation for this and a lot of ups and downs since last year in the time trial so I’m super happy that today I felt good.”
After Ganna set a testing time of 52:01 all eyes were on Martinez, who began the day 47sec off the lead, Thomas, who was one second ahead of him, and Pogacar.
While Thomas, who turns 38 on May 25, and Martinez struggled to chew up the tarmac between Foligno and Perugia, Pogacar shifted into overdrive clocking 51.44 at an average speed of 47.1 km/h.
Only 11th at the halfway point, 44 seconds behind Ganna, Pogacar finished very strongly indeed, taking advantage of the last six kilometres of uphill sections to knock out the competition.
“I remained cautious until the last climb when I gave it my all,” he said, admitting he did not have a lot of information from the team car.
“I heard only two times the time gap, and also I wasn’t so sure what they said on the radio. I was just focusing on myself,” said Pogacar.
“I knew the climb suits me, suits me better than other people for sure. That was my advantage on the climb, especially because it was quite steep.”
Martinez (Bora) was eighth quickest on the day but gave up 1:49 to Pogacar. He did, however, move up to second place in the GC with a 10-second advantage over a weary Thomas.
“I got stuck,” said the Welsh Ineos rider who won the Tour de France in 2018. “I gave it my best shot, but I was having a bad day.”
“I tried to ride within myself and when it was time to go, I felt OK but just lacked it a bit,” he admitted. “I just couldn’t get on top of it over those kickers. Yeah, it is what it is. It was just one of those days.”
Saturday’s 8th stage, which concludes with a fearsome final 14km climb to the finish at 1,452m altitude, could enable Pogacar, a keen climber, to extend his lead even further.
The Slovenian, who is taking part in the Giro for the first time in his career, is aiming to become the first rider since Italy’s Marco Pantani in 1998 to win both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same year.
It’s scary to think how war mongering the UK is. For every war in the world the USA and UK always get involved like it’s some sort of videos game. Also the war crimes done in Ireland, Iraq, number of country’s in Africa and Asia by the British Army is something not to be proud off.
Totally agree.
Stick to the football lads. It’s in need of your full attention.
Of course they’re planning to, there’s still plenty of empire nostalgia in England as reflected in recent Brexit vote
@An_Beal_Bocht: Whats commemorating the lives of those who died fighting in WWI & WWII have anything to do with the British empire? Its showing respect for those who gave their lives in an awful conflict.
It’s not just ww1 and ww2. It’s every war and conflict they have ever been in, including Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan, India etc etc etc etc etc.
A leopard never changes its spots. They just can’t help been themselves. They tried their best bless the murdering, Racist B@@@@@@!!!!
So they’re commemorating the inhabitants of Nagasaki and Nazi soldiers as well?!
Way to stick it to the man.
They’re dead right. To hell with fifa.
But we all know there is more to this poppy wearing for the Brits than commemoration of their fallen heroes.
100yrs on its more about nationalism.
I’m also sure there are families of innocents in places like Iraq, Syria and perhaps even Belfast who don’t take so kindly to the liberators tag that the British army like to align with.
I’m also sure there are a few Germans in FIFA who just joy in rubbing it in the noses of the brexiteers
The Scots are also planning on having poppys on their kit that day, why is this being ignored??
And James McLean to get the usually abuse from the stands and online by the brave knuckle daggers.
Its plain to see very few commenters on here haven’t a scooby what the Poppy represents.
The real question is if Fifa prohinits display of symbols on international jerseys which could be interpreted as a political, religious or commercial why was nothing said about the 1916 commemoration on the Ireland jerseys earlier this year?
let them wear the poppy. there’s no harm in it. it’s symbols that blatantly want to stir up trouble fifa should be more concerned with rather than symbols of remembrance and honour.
So what does it represent? I think maybe you are the one who doesn’t have the Scrooby doo.
What it was originally intended to represent, what it has come to represent and what it actually stands for are all different things.
The media poppy pressure in the U.K. is relentless. It’s become a massive propaganda tool for the British Army.
Oh , you mean the one we wore to celebrate 100 years? These fools wear that bloody poppy every year. The pro Britannia vibe is cringe to the point that it makes me want to vomit
If very FEW haven’t a scooby then the vast majority completely understand the stupidity of footballers wearing the poppy. Nice double negative you ignoramus!
The 1916 commemoration was for a friendly game, which is not against FIFA rules.
And to be even more pedantic about it, it did not contain the Lily but merely ‘Éire 1916-2016′. In my opinion it was subtle and classy. There is nothibg subtle about the poppy and its appearance on our screens en masse for the month of November.
Is the FA chairman not Greg Dyke instead of Greg Clarke??
Hi Sean, No it was Greg Dyke but he has since been succeeded by Greg Clarke. Greg Dyke stepped down during the summer.
Hi Sean. No Greg Clarke replaced Greg Dyke earlier this summer.
No
@sean mcgoey: Hi Sean, just getting back to this comment now. Greg Clarke succeeded Greg Dyke as FA Chairman in July of this year.
And we care….Nooooo
Surely the British parliament has more pressing concerns than worrying whether or not their football teams wear a poppy on their shirt. Always happens at this time of year and I find it funny how far they go with it