Giro d'Italia - Battle for the pink jersey: Time trial brings decision

Geraint Thomas or Primoz Roglic? A mountain time trial on the penultimate stage will decide the overall winner of the 106th Giro d'Italia.

Not exactly a good omen for the Slovenian professional cyclist. It's almost three years since Roglic's seemingly safe yellow jersey was snatched from him by his compatriot Tadej Pogacar in La-Planche-des-Belles-Filles on the penultimate day of the Tour de France in the battle against the clock.

Can Roglic turn things around this time? The gap to former Tour de France winner Thomas is only 26 seconds, but the 37-year-old Briton is regarded as a time trial specialist. In the time trial to Cesena on the ninth stage, Thomas was 16 seconds faster than the Olympic champion, but Roglic was twelve seconds ahead of Thomas in the opening time trial. It could be exciting.

Roglic is banking on the home advantage. The starting town of Tarvisio is only a few kilometres from the Slovenian border, so the 33-year-old can be expected to have many fans. And Roglic has fond memories of Tarvisio anyway. In 2007, he won the gold medal there on the ski jump at the Junior World Championships with the Slovenian team, before later switching to cycling.

From Tarvisio, the route leads over 18.6 kilometres to Monte Lussari. But the final climb is a tough one. An average gradient of 11.2 kilometres awaits over 7.8 kilometres. On Sunday, the final stage with start and finish in Rome should be a sprinter's race.

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