Don’t count on him to leave crumbs for the competition. Tadej Pogacar, new wearer of the rainbow jersey since his overwhelming victory at the World Championships in Zurich on Sunday, September 29, won the Vuelta a Emilia on Saturday, October 5 in Bologna (Italy). We have to go back to 2005 and a victory by Belgian Tom Boonen to find the success of a reigning world champion in his first appearance after the title.
The Slovenian, who also won the Tour de France and Italy in 2024, was barely less gluttonous than six days ago in Switzerland, when he made his first attack more than 100 kilometers from the finish. This Saturday, the leader of the UAE-Emirates team planted his first and only flag 38 kilometers from the finish line, on the climb to San Luca, with slopes of more than 10%, where his ease in creating the difference makes his teammates cadets lost in the course of a professional career.
Under torrential rain and on a slippery road (the only element that could thwart his dominance), Pogacar quickly took more than two minutes ahead of his first pursuers. In the end, the 26-year-old Slovenian beat Britain’s Tom Pidcock by 1 minute and 55 seconds at the finish line.
this is the 27thmy victory for the Slovenian in 2024, a crazy statistic that defies the logic of peaks of form throughout a season and eliminates any idea of suspense during the races in which he participates. Bad news for its opponents and fans of uncertainty, Pogacar plans to start the Tour of Lombardy, the last big event of the year, on Saturday, October 12.
