Tadej Pogacar has claimed victory at the Giro dell'Emilia. The world champion riding for UAE Team Emirates attacked on the first ascent of the San Luca climb in Bologna and left the competition far behind. Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) finished second, two minutes behind, with Davide Piganzoli (Polti Kometa) in third.
Before the start of the Italian one-day race, all eyes were on Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian was making his debut in his newly earned rainbow jersey. Dressed in black shorts, he set off with the rest of the peloton from Vignola for the classic race. This hilly event is particularly known for its finale, during which the infamous San Luca climb is tackled five times in the last 40 kilometers. Last year, Pogacar was beaten by his compatriot Primoz Roglic.
It was a tough day in Italy. The riders began the race in rain gear. However, that didn’t stop the breakaway adventurers from making their move. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), Dimitri Peyskens (Bingoal WB), Roberto Carlos González (Team Corratec-Vini Fantini), Ander Ganzabal (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Alessio Martinelli (VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè) and José Ramón Muñiz (Petrolike) formed a breakaway that held on for a long time. The race was briefly halted by a passing train, but the riders quickly resumed. On the grueling Montechiaro climb, the breakaway group splintered, and chaos also erupted in the peloton.
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On the descent, the peloton split. Lidl-Trek took this as a cue to increase the pace. This acceleration resulted in the breakaway being caught with 45 kilometers to go. However, the split was short-lived: before the first ascent of San Luca, it was neutralized. On that first climb, Remco Evenepoel immediately ramped up the pressure. The Olympic champion launched an attack, significantly thinning out the group of favorites. Pogacar comfortably sat on his wheel and used his Belgian rival's acceleration as a lead-out. One kilometer before the summit, Pogacar launched his own attack; only Matteo Jorgenson even attempted to follow but he found it impossible to keep up.
Pogacar quickly built a significant gap. By the bottom of the descent, his nearest Visma | Lease a Bike chaser was already 34 seconds behind, with the peloton trailing by three-quarters of a minute. The group managed to reel in Jorgenson, and his team immediately took responsibility for chasing the world champion. However, no real organized chase materialized, and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) tried to break away. The lack of coordination only worsened the chase.
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On the flat sections, the chasers maintained the same pace as the solo leader, but on the climbs, Pogacar extended his lead each time. By now, Lipowitz had joined the chase, but he couldn’t close the gap. In fact, with one lap to go, the lead had grown to nearly two and a half minutes. Pogacar was flying, with no rider able to stay in his shadow. Meanwhile, the battle for the podium spots began: Michael Woods attacked and was joined by Giulio Pelizzarri (VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè) and Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers).
By then, it was clear who would cross the finish line first. That question had been answered 40 kilometers earlier. Pogacar rode the final lap as if it were a training ride, taking his time to savor his achievement. With this victory in Emilia, he became the first rider since Tom Boonen (2006) to win his debut race as world champion and the first since Abraham Olano (1995) to do so in the same year. Poor Lipowitz was caught by the chasers before the finish line, where Pidcock proved to be the strongest, taking second place ahead of a very strong Davide Piganzoli.
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