The Giro mountains are behind the riders. On Saturday, the peloton battled on the climbs for the very last time in this 2024 edition, on a twentieth stage featuring a double ascent of Monte Grappa. Before things got tough, Lorenzo Germani managed to break away on home soil. He was then caught by the bunch which was willing to fight for the win. Tadej Pogacar scored his sixth victory. A sprint should conclude the race tomorrow in Rome.
The riders had “only” 184 kilometres left to cover before seeing Rome in the distance. On the other hand, these 184 kilometers included the monstrous Monte Grappa, 18 kilometers long for an average slope of 8%, to be done twice in the second half of the route! It was a final battle between the favorites, and a final day of suffering for the others. In the rain, from Alpago, the riders of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team however wanted to tackle the day in an aggressive way, and after a first attempt by Cyril Barthe, Lorenzo Germani eventually went clear with Davide Ballerini. “The guys knew that they were more on their terrain at the start and that they had 80 kilometres to show themselves,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “This is what Lorenzo did, and he found himself in the day’s breakaway.” The young Italian was subsequently joined by nine other riders, including stage winners Pelayo Sanchez and Andrea Vendrame.
“Everyone was happy to get it over with”, Frédéric Guesdon
However, this group only had a three-minute lead at the bottom of the first ascent of Monte Grappa. “The peloton didn’t leave enough of a lead and the climb was too hard for Lorenzo,” explained Frédéric. “The most important thing is that he was able to go in front and have a bit of fun. The others tried to hang on. We can tell it’s the end of Giro. Everyone is tired, it was quite hard, but I think everyone was happy to get it over with tonight.” The entire Groupama-FDJ cycling team therefore joined Bassano del Grappa, where Tadej Pogacar claimed victory yet another time. The riders will now head to Rome for a final stage of 125 kilometres tomorrow. “You never know what could happen, but it should be a sprint,” concluded Frédéric. “Laurence is in good condition, and I think the team deserves a good result. There’s only tomorrow left to take it, so we’re going to put everything on Laurence and be very careful so that it indeed ends in a sprint”.
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