Germany’s Georg Steinhauser ended leader Tadej Pogacar’s streak of wins at the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday with a solo victory after a day of constant climbing. The momentum of victory.
Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) soloed the first climb of the Brokon Pass with just over 30 kilometers remaining on stage 17 of the 159-kilometre race, continuing to open a considerable gap over Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier. With the peloton showing no real sense of urgency, Steinhauser, 22, making his Grand Tour debut, took victory on the second climb of the Broken Pass in persistent rain.
Pogacar, who debuted in the Giro d’Italia, won the 15th and 16th stages in a row, opening up a huge gap in the points battle. pink sweater But resisted the urge to score a hat-trick. The Emirates Team driver accelerated away from the home team in the final kilometers to put some distance between himself and his regular class rivals.
Pogacar finished 1 minute 24 seconds behind Steinhauser, moving the overall lead over second-placed Daniel Martínez by 7 minutes 42 seconds. Geraint Thomas was still third, 22 seconds behind.
“Well, I really controlled my horse until the final, so it was a very beautiful stage,” said Pogacar, who dominated the race almost from the start. “It was a little cold on the last descent, but we did a good job of stretching our legs on the last climb.”
The Slovenian added that Saturday’s penultimate stage could be his chance to win stage six. “The main goal was always to keep the jersey in Roma and not do anything stupid. But there was a very good stage, close to the Grappa Mountains in Slovenia, where we could see what could happen.
For Steinhauser, it was his biggest victory as a senior. “To be honest, I didn’t think too much, I just focused on the road in front of me,” he said. “The road was super slippery, so I stayed in my zone. I heard on the radio that I was very nervous on the last climb and at one point I heard [Pogacar] I was attacking but there was still 2km to go so I thought I would make it.
It will be a day for the sprinters on Thursday as the 178km run to Padua takes the main group out of the mountains.
