Tadej Pogačar Wins Second Stage of Giro d’Italia with Maria Rosa

Tadej Pogačar (Slovakia, Emirates Team UAE), who suffered a puncture and fell at the bottom of the Oropa first-class mountain, attacked with 4.3km left. He pulled away from the rest and won the second stage of the Giro d’Italia, with the Maria Rosa.
The second stage of the Giro aims to reach the summit of Oropa, a first-class mountain where the legend of Pantani remains. photo: RCS Sport
Jonathan Narváez (Ecuador, Ineos Grenadiers) wears the Maria Rosa after winning the previous day. photo: RCS SportGiro d’Italia 2024 Stage 2 Course Profile photo: RCS Sport

After an amazing three-way sprint, Jonathan Narváez (Ecuador, Ineos Grenadiers) won his second category victory and the Maria Rosa in the first category. One day later, on the second day of the Giro d’Italia, came the summit finish.

After leaving the Velodrome in San Francesco al Campo, the course was flat for around 90km, crossing two low hills. After that, you will cross two 3rd class mountains, and the last one you will run up is the 1st class mountain, Santuario di Oropa (distance 11.8km / average 6.2%). This is a pilgrimage site known as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for the burial of 49 people who were hit by a mechanical truck at the foot of the mountain during the 1999 Olympics.

Five escaped, including Filippo Fiorelli (Italy, VF Group Baldiani CSF Faisane) with Mariachi Clamino. photo: CorVos
Immediately after the flag was dropped for the very start, Filippo Fiorelli (Italy, VF Group Baldiani CSF, Faisane), with the Mariachi Clamino (point prize jersey), attacked. As a result of that move he escaped, and formed a five-man escape group with teammate Martin Marcelusi (Italy) and others.

5 people escaped through the second stage
Cristian Scaloni (Italy, Astana Kazakhstan)
Andrea Piccolo (Italy, EF Education Easypost)
David Bais (Porti Cometa, Italy)
Martin Marcelusi (Italy, Group VF Baldiani CSF Faisane)
Filippo Fiorelli (Italy, Group VF Baldiani CSF Faisane)

The main group was controlled by Ineos Grenadiers from Narváez, whose helmets, gloves and eyes were all pink. In the lead, Conor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), who wears the Union Jack representing the former British champion on both hinges, has a time gap of 4 minutes with the escape. At the front of the peloton, Tadej Pogačar (Slovakia, Emirates Team UAE), who missed out on the previous day’s victory, was shown chatting with his former teammate Fernando Gaviria (Colombia, Movistar) in the footage live

The peloton was dominated by Ineos Grenadiers. photo: RCS Sport
Proton and Escape were able to cover the distance smoothly, and it was time for the intermediate sprint with 67.1km remaining, marking the end of the flat road. There, Fiorelli was the first to arrive, taking an interim lead in the points ranking. At the front of the peloton, who came two and a half minutes behind, Kaden Groves (Austria, Alpecin Deceuninck) beat Olaf Kooi (Netherlands, Wisma Liesabijk) and finished first (passed in 6th place) , earning 3 points.

Immediately after, at the roundabout, four people went out, including Coy and Nicola Conci (Italy, Alpecin Deceuninck), who had finished 5th the day before. However, there were no major injuries, and Fiorelli finished first in the following Inter Giro (where sprint points and bonus time are awarded). Then, with 52km to go, Piccolo ran away and jumped out of the group in front of the first class 3 mountain.

Andrea Piccolo (Italy, EF Education Easypost) jumped out from behind and took the lead alone. photo: EF Education – EasyPost
Piccolo, wearing a distinctive black jersey instead of pink to confuse him with Maria Rosa, passed the first Class 3 mountain with a 1 minute 13 second lead over the breakaway group and a 2 minute lead over the proton. Continuing his movement, Piccolo crossed the second class 3 mountain on the lead, and reached the Santuario di Oropa class 1 mountain (distance 11.8km / average 6.2%), which is even more special for him Italian.

While the main group caught everyone but Piccolo escaping and chasing the leader by a minute and a half difference, Pogačar’s front tire went flat just before the first stage mountain. Pogačar fell while trying to turn the corner, but as he had already slowed down, there was no damage, and with a quick bike change and help from his teammates, he able to go back to the group. Meanwhile, at the front of the peloton, Geraint Thomas (Great Britain, Ineos Grenadiers) passed in second place in the intermediate sprint bonus time, gaining -2 seconds.

Pogačar’s puncture at the foot of Oropa evoked memories of Pantani’s legendary run, but it played out as many had predicted before the race.

Santuario di Oropa, a first class mountain created by Marco Pantani legend in 1999 photo: RCS Sport
Tadej Pogačar (Slovakia, Team Emirates UAE) attacked with 4.3km remaining and took the lead on his own. photo: CorVos
With Pogacar back in the peloton, Team Emirates UAE began to lead the peloton, reducing the number of people in the group and including Piccolo with 6.5km remaining. Then Rafał Majka (Poland, Emirates Team UAE) quickly increased his pace, and Pogačar attacked with 4.5km remaining. Ben O’Connor (Australia, Decathlon AG2R Ramondial) and Geraint Thomas (England, Ineos Grenadiers) took advantage of that.

However, Thomas soon turned to running at his own pace, and Pogačar was able to pull away from O’Connor. Pogačar, who had changed bikes and didn’t have a bike computer handy, turned his legs at the top end and gradually widened the gap between himself and those behind him.

Although he was 24 seconds short of Pantani’s climbing record (from 6.59km left), Pogačar reached the finish after climbing Oropa in 17 minutes and 28 seconds. In his first appearance at the Giro d’Italia, he won the section he lost the day before, and also achieved his long-awaited Maria Rosa.

Tadej Pogačar (Slovakia, Emirates Team UAE) takes the lead and wins his first Giro victory. photo: CorVos
Tadej Pogačar (Slovakia, Emirates Team UAE) competes in the Maria Rosa for the first time photo: CorVos
“It’s a dream. This is my first win at the Giro and my first Maria Rosa. The team’s strategy worked perfectly, and we moved into the overall lead with a good time difference. That’s why I can enjoy the upcoming stages while riding. At the bottom of the mountain, I got a puncture due to a pothole, but I didn’t panic after that,” said Pogačar. With this, he has won in the category in all Grand Tours, after the Tour de France and Vuelta a España.

He was followed by Daniel Martinez (Colombia, Bora-Hansgrohe), who reduced the time difference with the help of assistants and took second place with a difference of 27 seconds. While Thomas, who climbed at a steady pace from start to finish, came in 3rd, O’Connor regretted not being able to keep up with Pogacar’s pace too much, and was 1 minute behind (13th in the division) , losing his whole. hour.

Daniel Martinez (Colombia, Bora-Hansgrohe) came in second, 27 seconds behind, beating Geraint Thomas (Great Britain, Ineos Grenadiers). photo: CorVos