20 photos from May: The best cycling pictures of the month
Rain, crashes, cancellations, route changes: In many ways, the weather played a huge role in the Giro d'Italia 2023 and provided photographers with their very own motifs.
Spectacular take-off by Mark Cavendish
The roads were slippery as glass, especially in the southern part of Italy. This was also felt by Mark Cavendish, who slipped in the final sprint of stage 5 and flew across the finish line.
Until halfway through the Giro, everything looked like Remco Evenepoel was the favourite to win. The exceptional Belgian rider won two stages, but just a few hours after his victory in the individual time trial on stage 9, he had to withdraw from the race due to a positive coronavirus test.
Giro stage to Switzerland shortened
The Tour of Italy's detour to Switzerland also did not go as planned. Of the 207 kilometres originally planned, only 75 were ultimately completed due to the bad weather. With the Great Saint Bernard, the planned Cima Coppi - the highest point of the race - was cancelled. The Three Peaks on the 19th stage took the place of St Bernard.
From a German perspective, the Tour of Italy was very successful. Lennard Kämna finished in the top 10 overall in ninth place and there were three stage wins. Nico Denz took two of them as a breakaway rider and Pascal Ackermann won one in a bunch sprint.
Roglic triumphs in the Giro mountain time trial
The Giro was only decided shortly before the end on the mountain time trial to Monte Lussari on the 20th stage. The day before, Primoz Roglic had already snatched a few seconds from the overall leader Geraint Thomas on the Three Peaks. On the penultimate stage, the former ski jumper took the pink jersey to the frenetic cheers of his Slovenian fans - even a defect couldn't stop him.
A triumphant ride through the streets of Rome was followed by the crowning glory for Roglic in the Eternal City, who won the Giro by 14 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas and 1:15 minutes ahead of Joao Almeida.
Vollering dominates in Spain
Meanwhile, Demi Vollering continued her winning streak at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas this year. The Dutchwoman won two of the four stages - the other two went to her compatriot Lorena Wiebes - and the overall classification after dominating the Ardennes classics back in April.
June will be no less exciting in professional cycling. With Criterium du Dauphine and Tour de Suisse the preparation for the Tour de France enters the hot phase. The most important June dates can be found here in our race calendar.
