Giro d'Italia: Tadej Pogačar glides to overall glory while Tim Merlier conquers sprint in Rome

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Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) made his move with 250 metres to go and won stage 21 of the Giro d’Italia in Rome, holding off Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) in a hotly-contested technical finale. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) finished third, just ahead of Fernando Gaviria (Movistar).

With six stage wins and 20 days in the maglia rosa, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) sealed the overall of the 2024 Giro d’Italia on the fast-paced romp in Rome.

It was a gargantuan effort by the big sprinters, with Merlier having to make a bike change early on the finish circuits and Milan having his own mechanical just before the final lap, which preceded a stunning chase back to the front of the field. For Merlier, it was his third sprint victory across the three weeks.

“I have to say sorry to the guys because I couldn’t follow today. So we played a bit of catchup in the end. If I can take the cobbles positioned five or six, I can go from far on the cobbles. I go with my speed. It works. I take the win for the team,” Merlier said at the finish.

“The first part was easy, then it was full gas. For me, this kind of race is a bit special, for sprinters a really nice victory.”

There was big trouble just before the penultimate pass of the Colosseum when maglia ciclamino Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) stood at the side of the road and had to wait a long time for a team car to stop and swap his bike.

UAE Team Emirates set the pace at the front of the peloton on the eighth and final circuit of Rome, with Geraint Thomas of Ineos Grenadiers taking the front for Filippo Ganna, Milan trying to tag onto the back of the peloton.

With four kilometres to go, there was a small climb and Ganna rode on the wheel of Pogačar near the front. Then another rise at 2km to the finish, the maglia rosa rode at the front. He would finish safely in the pack to confirm his overall title on his first Giro.

Pogačar completed the first half of this Giro-Tour conquest on Sunday, riding at the front of the peloton in the finale, alongside his UAE Team Emirates teammates, all clad in special rose-coloured kits - Mikkel Bjerg, Vegard Stake Laengen, Felix Grossschartner, Rafal Majka, Sebastian Molano, Domen Novak, Rui Oliveira.

On the opening day in Torino three weeks ago, the pink leader’s jersey found the shoulders of Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), winner of stage 1, and then the Slovenian went straight to work to make an indelible impression on his Giro debut by winning stage 2 on the mountaintop finish at Santuario di Oropa. From that point he never let go of the maglia rosa.

"I'm speechless about this moment in Rome. It's crazy," Pogačar said after the finish.  "We wanted to be in front in the finale of today's stage. It was quite technical and bumpy. We did super well with the boys. It's unlucky Molano didn't have very good legs but we did the rest of the job so well. So we're happy. 

"I have a lot of fond memories of this Giro. In a while I'll realise which one was the best moment. In general it was a beautiful Giro. The maglia rosa is really special. It's been a crazy experience to have it for 20 days. All the fans have been incredibly good."

With Pogačar permanently in pink at the golden hour of the race conclusion, his GC podium companions remained as predicted after the stage 20 victory by Pogačar, Daniel Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) second overall at 9:56 back and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) third, 10:24 off the best mark.

Milan secured the points classification title with a substantial lead over runner-up Groves and Merlier in third. Italian Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) took the youth classification while Pogačar added the mountain classification to his overall, well ahead of a solid climbing performance by Giulio Pellizzari (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè)

How it Unfolded

Two distinct sections characterised the final day of racing on stage 21: the start from Rome heading to the coast and Ostia, then returning to the starting area with eight counter-clockwise circuits inside the capital – passing through the ancient city centre punctuated by the Colosseum. A new finish line in Rome still rolled over very rough cobbles, but this year the line came with only a straightaway of 350 metres on pavé after a left-hand corner around the Colosseum.

Usual for the final stage, the race began with pomp and circumstance for the classification leaders as riders and their teams had no interest in attacks through the opening 53km, only the shutter speed of cameras setting a high pace.

As the riders entered the circuit on the ancient streets of Rome, 41-year-old Italian rider Domenico Pozzovivo (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) was allowed to lead the proceedings in his final appearance at his home Grand Tour, his retirement confirmed for the end of this season.

Rather than a scenic tour of Rome, four riders decided to hit racing mode and struck with an acceleration on the first circuit - Alex Baudin (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Mikkel Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost) leading the way and quickly joined by Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Martin Marcellusi (VF Grouip-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè).

With under 50km to go, the quartet dangled with a 21-second advantage, the peloton strung out in a long line passing on a small rise adjacent to the Circus Maximus, the ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium, for a third time, and five laps to go.

Aside from the breakaway holding steady, the only surprise was the sight of Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) at the side of the road. He made a bike change and with a laugh with his team was back quickly in the peloton.

With 36km to go and the InterGiro sprint looming, Costiou accelerated for the special prize, giving him bonus points and an appearance later at the awards ceremony.

Work by the sprinters’ teams - Lidl-Trek, Soudal-QuickStep, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Tudor Pro Cycling - kept the breakaway tame, the gap down to 15 seconds with 30km to ride.

Across the next 12km, the four leaders held steady as they had two laps to go, Marcellusi the only rider in the peloton from Rome and not wanting to give up on his parade just yet.

At the 14.2km mark on a long, straight stretch in the shadows of the trees, Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Dries De Pooter (Intermarché-Wanty) went down hard along with two other riders, De Pooter kicking the air in frustration. Storer made it back to the main peloton within the final kilometres, preserving his top-10 place in the overall standings.

Meanwhile, across the next two kilometres, the peloton had made the catch of the breakaway and teams began the positioning game to protect their sprinters and others in top GC positions. Pogačar rode protected among his UAE squad just a few wheels off the front.

Just before the final lap, maglia ciclamino Milan suffered a puncture and waited for a bike exchange, then delivered what we can only speculate to have been peak sprint-level watts to rejoin the peloton.

UAE Team Emirates was a blur of pink at the front of the peloton on the final circuit. Then Lidl-Trek put three riders in the lead - Jasper Stuyven, Edward Theuns and Simone Consonni - and they boiled on the left side of a wide section of road, looking to launch a resurgent Milan. The plan looked solid until Merlier accelerated in a solo move on the final pass of the Colosseum and took the checkered flag.

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