To be on the safe side, a well-travelled observer takes another look at the map. Are you really standing on Italian soil here? From the summit of Monte Lussari, you can see almost nothing but Slovenian flags as far as the eye can see - plus a colourful crowd of people in Slovenian national jerseys or in the yellow and black outfits of the Jumbo-Visma team standing at the edge of the narrow concrete track. This winds extremely steeply from the Kanaltal valley up to the pilgrimage church on the mountain top.
It is the setting for the deciding stage of the 106th edition of the Giro d'Italia - for the all-important mountain time trial on the penultimate stage. And that triggered a friendly invasion on the 1790 metre high summit, which has belonged to Italy for more than 100 years, just a few kilometres from the Slovenian border as the crow flies.
"It will be great to watch, but terrible to have to do it yourself," Geraint Thomas had said the day before about the cycling Ascension. The Slovenian fans could see this statement as an extra invitation. After all, they were all hoping that the cycling hero of the small country would snatch the pink jersey from the British rider Thomas at the last moment.
Fracture pilot of cycling
And then came the man whose name the crowds had been chanting the day before: Primož Roglič. The 33-year-old professional cyclist from Team Jumbo-Visma had shown on the steep final climb to the Rifugio Auronzo at the foot of the Three Peaks that he was not to be outdone. In the last few metres, he had pulled away from his rival from Wales - it was only a time gain of three seconds, but a visible indication of a turnaround at the last moment.
An indication that cycling's eternal breakaway rider, who recently had to abandon three times in four starts in major tours after painful contact with the ground, and who also wanted to win the Giro after three victories at the Vuelta. Absolutely. Someone whose career so beautifully tells the story of the eternal cycle of falling down and getting up again in cycling. Who dramatically lost the Tour de France three years ago at the last moment - dethroned by his young compatriot Tadej Pogačar in the mountain time trial on the Planche des Belles Filles in the Vosges.
Perhaps this is why people celebrate him in his small home country, which liberated itself from the Yugoslavian central power more than 30 years ago in a short, almost forgotten war. A man who is unbending - although he also suffered a painful setback in this Tour of Italy.
"I lost a lot of flesh," he said in his blunt manner about the crash on stage 11. He had initially been escorted to the summits by his loyal aide Sepp Kuss in the final week - visibly battered, not in full possession of his strength. He endeavoured to limit the damage. He looked like the loser.
Giro d'Italia - The fans deliver extra power
This was also visible to the rivals, who wanted to put the ailing leader of the Jumbo-Visma team to the test with a general attack on Monte Bondone on the 16th stage. Portuguese rider João Almeida had his helpers in Team UAE prepare his attack with painful pace dictates. The smart Brit Geraint Thomas had watched the action from the back of the leading group before following the young challenger and leaving Roglič behind.
It was the end of the stalemate in this Giro - a kind of non-attack pact among the top favourites that had been running through the first two weeks of the race. Some spectators found it boring - but it was a tactical battle, led by two experienced leaders in the peloton, who know very well that you have to dose your efforts over three weeks. Sometimes from painful experience in the past. And this time in the certainty that the hardest part should come at the end.
Even Roglič, who is always keen to attack, was largely cautious - perhaps also because of the consequences of the crash. Unusual to see, after the last few years had been characterised mainly by impetuous attacks from a new generation of racers. For the latecomer to cycling, it was probably also a lesson from the past - after all, the Slovenian had often sprinted into the lead early on in tours and then failed to hold on, as in his only previous Giro start in 2019.
Wait-and-see instead of aggressive
This time he did it differently. The Slovenian's strategy was completely geared towards this last decisive stage in the mountains - he had explored the mountain metre by metre on foot. And opted for an unusually small gear ratio in professional cycling: a sprocket set with a maximum of 44 teeth at the rear, plus a single 42-tooth chainring at the front. With a whirling pedal stroke, a high-frequency staccato on the pedals, Roglič stormed uphill after the flat section - over ramps made of corrugated concrete, which had an average gradient of 15.3 per cent over five kilometres, garnished with steep sections of 22 per cent.
But the unusual drivetrain also harboured dangers: There was a scream on the mountain when the spectators saw Roglič suddenly come to a standstill in the final kilometres. The chain of the single drivetrain had fallen off during a bump on the bumpy mountain road.
But despite the mishap, which he quickly rectified himself with a quick grab, Roglič remained in a high-altitude frenzy, pulling away second by second from his rival, who had taken an inordinate amount of time in the transition zone at the bottom of the mountain, including changing his helmet. And the line of compatriots meant an audible home advantage for the Slovenian.
Giro d'Italia - Extra wattage from the fans
The fans had given him "extra watts", he said at the winner's press conference and added: "I made it thanks to the spectators. I'll never forget the support of all these people. I had tears in my eyes and goosebumps." Roglič had gained a whole 40 seconds at the top of Monte Lussari in the battle against the clock and his biggest rival.
"At least he really crushed me," admitted Geraint Thomas afterwards, as his dream of entering the history books as the oldest Giro winner of all time shortly after his 37th birthday was shattered. At the end of three weeks, 21 stages and around 3,350 kilometres, the difference in the overall classification was a mere 14 seconds - seconds that meant so much: Roglič, the eternal breakaway rider, had successfully resisted his fate.
And this time he turned the tables after having to cede victory in the Tour de France to his young compatriot Tadej Pogačar at the last moment in 2020. Roglič had impressively demonstrated the resilience, the resistance to setbacks, that is so important as a key qualification for specialists in the battle for overall victory.
Infections, bad weather and a virus
He was the deserved winner of an unusually tough ride through Italy and Switzerland - with additional opponents: the Giro peloton had experienced an unexpected wave of infections, the corona virus forced 23-year-old Belgian Remco Evenepoel out of the race as the wearer of the pink jersey on the evening of stage 9. Team Bora-Hansgrohe and its Russian leader Alexander Vlasov also had their dreams of a podium finish shattered by the almost forgotten virus. More than a dozen other riders had to leave the race early after testing positive.
Added to this were unusually frequent gastrointestinal problems and the extremely bad weather. "I've never experienced weather like this before. I've never been so cold on a bike before," said Pascal Ackermann, who returned to winning ways at this Giro with a stage victory in the bunch sprint. It was a race that showed who could cope well with the particular hardships of this edition, like Nico Denz, who fought his way to two stage wins with vigour. "There is no such thing as bad weather for him. He rolls up his sleeves - and off he goes," praised team boss Ralph Denk. But the overall classification project also remained successful for the German team.
The strength drained from Kämna's legs
Lennard Kämna, who had moved into the leading role after Vlasov's retirement, fought doggedly for every second for three weeks, against wind and weather and illness - at the top of the Lussari, he first needed a chair to recover from the final ascent. And looked exhaustedly at the big screen showing the duel between Thomas and Roglič.
It took the 26-year-old German 2:18 minutes longer for the decisive climb than the day's and overall winner Roglič. "The mountain was too steep for me," he had already had to admit the day before at the foot of the Three Peaks when he lost sight of the best in the final. And the course of the mountain time trial was even steeper.
In the final days of the Giro, the strength drained out of Kämna's legs and the rider from Bremen, who lives in mountainous Vorarlberg, lost position after position in the overall classification - he finished ninth overall in Rome. "He did sensationally well for his first attempt," said his Austrian team-mate Patrick Konrad, himself twice in the top ten at the Giro in the past. Team boss Denk also considered the first attempt to retrain the multi-talented stage hunter Kämna as a classification rider a success.
"It was the first time that I took on the role of leader in a Grand Tour," said Kämna in his Giro review. He could be very satisfied with ninth place in the overall standings: "It's not necessarily easy to stay focussed day after day for three weeks in a Grand Tour. I believe that my performance reflects the hard work and preparation that everyone in the team has put into this goal."
The future could belong to Kämna. After all, Roglič was still two years older when he finished in the top ten for the first time in one of the major national tours. And Geraint Thomas was already 32 years old when he won the Tour in 2018 - he had never achieved a good position in an overall classification before. Even if he lost a few minutes on the final stages this time: The German is well on time on his way to the top.
Nico Denz - The part-time winning driver
The working day for the professional cyclist in Sabbio Chiese near Lake Garda starts a little earlier than before. Nico Denz is already in demand at the start - before the actual day's work begins. Before signing on for the 16th Giro stage, many fans call out his name so that he can come to the barrier for an autograph or a selfie. The slender man with the short, full beard, who many cycling fans hardly knew before, is now who.
"It's unbelievable how often my name is called out along the route," says the man who was one of the high-flyers of this Giro, adding that the number of people asking for souvenirs featuring him has increased "exponentially". The 29-year-old professional cyclist from Team Bora-Hansgrohe progressed from an inconspicuous helper to a two-time stage winner within three days. Alongside Remco Evenepoel, he was the only one in the Giro peloton to be the fastest rider of the day twice.
Denz is an example of the many men in the peloton who only very rarely get the chance to make a big appearance. "When there's work to be done, I'm not above anything," he said in an interview with tour-magazin.de before the start of the season. The father of two is what is traditionally referred to somewhat disrespectfully as a "water carrier" - someone who works primarily for the success of others in the team. "He is one of the last loyal helpers in the peloton.
Someone who gives everything for his team-mates until the bitter end," praises his long-time companion and national team colleague Pascal Ackermann. "He's never had it easy," emphasises the sprinter, who has raced against his teammate weekend after weekend since the U15 class. Unlike top sprinter Ackermann, Denz is an all-rounder who can do a lot of things very well, but nothing outstanding - by the standards of world-class cycling.
While former team-mates in the U23 national team such as Ackermann, Phil Bauhaus, Maximilian Schachmann, Nils Politt and Lennard Kämna made their breakthrough into professional cycling fairly quickly, Denz went to France to join Chambéry Cyclisme Formation, AGR2's junior project.
From there, he switched to the professional racing team and remained a valued helper there, as in his three years at Sunweb and DSM - but was inconspicuous in the rankings. Five years ago, he narrowly missed out on a stage win at the Giro in a two-man sprint against Matej Mohorič. But even second place is considered the first loser in cycling.
Few opportunities, successfully utilised
The opportunities are rare - but Denz tries to make the most of them with everything in his power. Last year, the slender man from the Hochrhein really caught the eye for the first time when he won the Tour de Suisse mountain finish on a scorching hot summer's day with a dogged sprint in a photo finish - even though he is not a climber. This has only slightly improved his status. Even after his switch to Bora, he still works primarily for the successes of others. On the 11th stage of the Giro, he worked hard over several kilometres to keep his captain Lennard Kämna out of the wind at the front of the peloton and out of the danger zone in the run-up to the sprint finale.
The next day, as part of a breakaway group, he fought his way over the Colle Braida (five kilometres with an average gradient of 8.3 per cent) with his last ounce of strength and too much gear on the rear wheel of Sebastian Berwick and Toms Skujiņš - and won the energetic sprint to the finish against them with his last ounce of strength. Another two days later, Denz, again as a breakaway rider, first closed the gap to the three leaders in the final and then won a seemingly endless uphill sprint. A demonstration of his strength of will - fuelled by his previous success.
"He's not a pure sprinter. But after a long, hard day he is very fast - he still has strength when everyone is already tired," says his new coach John Wakefield. Denz is also regarded as someone who has a good feel for situations in the race. Well prepared, committed and focussed, he makes the most of his few chances. "We've seen the best Nico Denz we've ever seen," says team boss Ralph Denk.
But what does success change? Salary increase, new season goals? Denz waves it off. "Nothing has changed in the way I work," he says, before heading into the decisive mountain stages of the race, before once again providing valuable help for the captains like Lennard Kämna, fetching bottles and providing slipstream. But he has shown that he can do more than just help. He is a winner - albeit as a sideline.
The results of the 106th Giro d'Italia
Andreas Kublik
Editor
