The coronation: Tadej Pogačar eyes Monte Grappa exhibition to crown his Giro d'Italia - stage 20 preview

Tadej Pogacar en route to the overall victory in the 2024 Giro d'Italia
Tadej Pogacar en route to the overall victory in the 2024 Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Getty Images)

This weekend 12 months ago, it felt as though half of Slovenia had decamped to the slopes of Monte Lussari in support of Primož Roglič. On that occasion, they travelled to the final weekend of the Giro d’Italia in hope as much as in expectation. This time out, they will mass on Monte Grappa already secure in the knowledge that they are bearing witness to a coronation.

Tadej Pogačar has been utterly without peer on this Giro. For much of the race, it has been as though he has been riding behind a velvet rope, travelling to exclusive areas that even riders of the quality of Geraint Thomas and Daniel Martínez simply cannot access.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.

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