Overall, Pogacar, who went on to record stage victories in the three major rounds, is 45 seconds ahead of Thomas and Martínez, second and third, respectively.
On Monday, the cyclists will complete 166 kilometers, between Novara and Fossano, in the first option for the sprinters.
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) already has the coveted pink jersey for the Tour of Italy on a bike, after winning the second stage today, even after having punctured and fallen at the beginning of the final climb.
After having narrowly missed out on winning the day before, Pogacar showed today that he was the strongest in the ‘Corsa Rosa’ and won the race alone, which linked San Francesco al Campo to the Sanctuary of Oropa, in Biella (161 kilometers), in 03: 54.20 hours, going on to have stage triumphs in all the major tours.
“It’s a dream come true, an incredible victory. After winning the Vuelta and the Tour, I managed to win a stage in every big tour. It’s not something that everyone has and it’s a big thing in cycling,” said ‘Pogi’.
However, Pogacar did not avoid a scare and, on the way into the final, first-category climb, he suffered a puncture and, at the entrance of a curve, he ended up seeing his front tire run away and suffered a small fall.
Now with a new bike, the two-time Tour winner managed, with the help of some teammates, to return to the peloton, with UAE Emirates almost immediately imposing a higher pace at the front of the race, preparing the expected attack of his leader.
With 4.4 kilometers to go, Pogacar launched an attack, to which only the Australian Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and the British Geraint Thomas (INEOS) responded, who, experienced, knew how to go at his own pace, as he knew that it would pay off later on trying to continue with the Slovenian.
“We all know that Tadej is… he is Tadej”, said Thomas, second in the 2023 Giro and who crossed the finish line 27 seconds after Pogacar, in third place, with the same time as Colombian Daniel Martínez (BORA-hansgrohe ), second.
Pogacar’s attack seemed to leave his opponents even further behind in the overall standings, but even so, the Slovenian already has a 45 second lead over Thomas and Martínez, second and third overall, respectively.
“I didn’t know the climb well, but I think we had a good plan. I accelerated after Rafal Majka’s last effort. My dream was to wear the pink shirt and now I can relax for a few days”, said the new leader.
Ben O’Connor ended up paying for the effort of trying to chase Pogacar and ended up in 13th place in the stage, already 1.00 minutes away, as did the Colombian Esteban Chaves (EF Education – EasyPost) and the Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko (Astana).
In the fight for the podium, the young Belgian Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) came fourth, 54 seconds behind, equal with the Colombian Einer Rubio (Movistar), with Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana) being the best among the Italians, in sixth place, at 1.05 minutes.
The Portuguese Rui Oliveira (UAE Emirates), after helping to reduce the distance from the pack to escape, was 174th, at 27.06 minutes, falling to 173rd overall, at 42.08.
The only Portuguese in the ‘Corsa Rosa’ squad will play a more important role on Monday, trying to lead Colombian Juan Sebastián Molano to victory in the third stage, the first with the chance of reaching the sprint, between Novara and Fossano (166 kilometers ).
