Slovenian cyclist Primož Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) won the 20th and penultimate stage of the Tour of Italy this Saturday, snatching the overall lead he should have taken, while Portugal’s Joao Almeida (UAE Emirates) finished third.
Roglic, three-time Tour of Spain champion (2019, 2020 and 2021), completed the 18.6 km “chrono climb” between Tarvisio and Monte Lussari in 44.23 minutes despite a mechanical problem on the way up, leaving Briton Geraint Thomas (INEOS) in second place with a score of 40 seconds and Almeida in third place with a score of 42.
The victory changed the overall score, with the Slovenian overtaking the Briton in the lead, 14 seconds ahead of 2018 Tour de France winner second, and 1.15 minutes ahead of Joao Almeida, who would win the youth classification.
In addition to the triumph in his youth, the 24-year-old Portuguese will be third and get the first final podium in the Tour of Italy for Portugal and the fourth in the history of major tours, and will end the “fast” in three main races after Joaquim Agostinho’s third place in the 1979 Tour. a year after he did the same in 1978, after finishing second in the 1974 Tour of Spain.
These positions are almost definitive as the Tour of Italy ends on Sunday with a 126km ‘march’ in Rome, which should not change the whole and serves to consecrate the 106th edition champion.