Pantani, Dumoulin, and... Pogacar! Slovenian dominates after crash on Oropa and can thank INEOS for the effort

With Jhonatan Narváez in the leader's jersey, the peloton set off for the second stage of the Giro d'Italia, with the key questions being: would the peloton (or Pogacar) aim for the stage win, would INEOS try to manipulate Pogacar, and was there a chance for the early breakaway? From the moment the peloton - without first dropout Robert Gesink due to a hand fracture - started at 1:05 p.m., we quickly got clarity.

Initially, a group of six riders appeared to gain some ground from the start, but the EF Education-EasyPost team had other plans. Determined to bridge the gap, the American outfit, alongside riders like Filippo Ganna from INEOS Grenadiers, swiftly closed in. Although there was a momentary hint of a skirmish, it fizzled out.

However, the next attempt was successful, despite some resistance from Cofidis. Cristian Scaroni (Astana), Andrea Piccolo (EF), Davide Bais (Polti-Kometa), Filippo Fiorelli, and Martin Marcellusi (VF Group-Bardiani) were given a free pass, while control shifted to a (silent?) agreement between INEOS Grenadiers and UAE-Team Emirates. So, no games were played, they simply joined forces. And thus, the peloton moved forward, towards the first uphill sections.

At the intermediate sprint, Fiorelli made a move for his points jersey, while the sprinters fought for their classifications. Kaden Groves, Olav Kooij, and Caleb Ewan snatched the points ahead of Danny van Poppel and Jonathan Milan, but the Dutchman from Visma | Lease a Bike found himself suddenly on the ground a few minutes later. Kooij crashed alongside Eddie Dunbar and visibly injured himself. After a visit to the team car and the medical car, he continued his journey, sporting a bloodied elbow.

The peloton naturally didn't wait, as the first climbs were also approaching. Meanwhile, another rider from Visma | Lease a Bike, Attila Valter, crashed, joining Kooij and his teammate Edoardo Affini. Consequently, they found themselves in the gruppetto with the other sprinters, focusing on recovery towards the first sprint opportunity on Monday. Another notable rider who was already struggling at this stage was Tudor team leader Michael Storer.

Upfront, there were also some skirmishes, with Andrea Piccolo playing a leading role: the EF Education-EasyPost Italian, determined to make the breakaway at the start of the day, rode away solo. Meanwhile, in the peloton, Filippo Ganna took charge on behalf of INEOS Grenadiers towards the Nelva climb, the penultimate of the day. The strong rider from Verbania led the peloton over that climb and then perfectly positioned his leaders at the foot of Oropa.

Just before the climb, a very strange situation unfolded: top favorite Pogacar got a flat tire and, to make matters worse, he also crashed due to loss of grip, narrowly avoiding being hit by the UAE-Team Emirates team car arriving behind him. Meanwhile, Geraint Thomas grabbed two bonus seconds, but INEOS didn't take advantage of their fallen competitor in a sportsmanlike manner. With the help of his teammates, Pogacar was able to return fairly quickly.

Once back at the front, UAE-Team Emirates immediately pushed the pace. Felix Grossschartner was sacrificed first, followed by Mikkel Bjerg and Domen Novak. Rafal Majka then took over, stretching the peloton and eliminating a large part of the competition. Pogacar then took over with great momentum 4.5 kilometers from the finish, with Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R) in his wake. A second acceleration from the saddle was enough to drop the Aussie, sealing the winner's fate.

Behind them, O'Connor, Thomas, and a strong Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike) came together, forming a group of about fifteen riders. The biggest absentees, aside from Arensman and Bardet, were Damiano Caruso and Antonio Tiberi from Bahrain Victorious, who suffered a heavy blow. O'Connor also pushed himself beyond his limits trying to keep up with Pogacar, resulting in him losing valuable time.

Meanwhile, Florian Lipowitz (BORA-hansgrohe) emerged as the best of the rest, alongside Uijtdebroeks. The German worked for Martínez, who finished second ahead of Thomas. Uijtdebroeks secured the white jersey.