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Cycling Weekly

Sport

Emma Magnus

Filippo Ganna triumphs over Tadej Pogačar to win stage 14's time trial

Filippo Ganna Tadej Pogačar Filippo Ganna Ineos Grenadiers Ineos Grenadiers (Person) Geraint Thomas Thymen Arensman Tobias Foss UAE Team Emirates Antonio Tiberi Ben OConnor

DESENZANO DEL GARDA, ITALY - MAY 18: Filippo Ganna of Italy and Team INEOS Grenadiers celebrates at podium as stage winner during the 107th Giro d'Italia 2024, Stage 14 a 31.2km individual time trial stage from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda / #UCIWT / on May 18, 2024 in Desenzano del Garda, Italy. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images).

“We will see,” said Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) as he sat in the hotseat of today’s individual time trial, waiting for Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) to begin. “We will cross the fingers, and we’ll wait.”

At this point, stage favourite Ganna had been in the hotseat for over two hours, after setting a blistering 53.45 km/h pace and finishing the 31.2 km time trial in 35.02. For much of the day, his closest rival had been Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), who had finished 1.18 behind him.

But he’d been in this position before. In stage 7’s ITT, he had spent a long day in first place, only to be unseated by Pogačar at the last minute. And as Pogačar passed the first time check four seconds ahead of Ganna, it looked like the same could happen again. Ganna’s face, steely and tight-lipped, betrayed some of his nerves.

Pogačar’s lead began to dwindle as he rode, though only by seconds. At the second time check, he was 10 seconds down on the Italian time trial specialist, but the margin was still too small for Ganna to relax.

Minutes later, Pogačar, wearing the pink jersey, crossed the line. He’d finished 29 seconds slower than Ganna, putting him in second place. On camera, Ganna made a small, clipped smile, raising his fist to the air in a tiny celebration. Seated next to him, compatriot Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) squeezed Ganna’s shoulder, and he raised his head to the air and breathed a sigh of relief. He’d won.

As the bookmakers had predicted, today’s stage was better suited to Ganna than the first ITT had been. It was a mostly flat course, running from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda. There were some small bumps in the road, but only 250m of elevation gain in total.

“Today I suffered a lot,” Ganna said after the win. “I was just speaking with Jonathan Milan – for him it’s 70 seconds in the sprint and then you know immediately if you win or not. Today I waited two hours. In the end, I am a little bit blocked with emotions.

“In Italy, we have a lot of time without a win. It’s an intense moment, especially here, close to the lake [Garda]. It’s like a second home for me.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a sunny, 23-degree day as today’s 31.2km ITT began in northern Italy. Alan Riou (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) would be the first to start, with Pogačar last.

Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike) was one of the first men to make a claim to the hotseat, finishing in 36.32 (51.2 km/h). This was the time to beat when Ganna began, about a third of the way through the running order.

The two-time time trial world champion was the hot favourite today, and equally popular with the crowds, who had gathered by the roadside to cheer for an Italian winner. While Ganna rode, his teammate Tobias Foss set a new fastest time, beating Affini by 4 seconds. But Foss’ time in the hotseat would be short-lived.

Ganna was 13 seconds faster than his closest rival at the first time check. By the second, his lead had increased to 59 seconds – a time that would not be bettered. His smooth, aero riding style —the result of years of specialised practise— was praised by the commentators, and as he rode through the finish line, it was clear that he had made a mark on the stage. But would it be enough?

Foss certainly thought so. "Pippo in Italy is a different person than I have seen in other races," he said after Ganna finished. "He is such a strong guy. What he did today on this kind of TT - even Pogi will struggle to beat him. Chapeau and really well done to Pippo."

Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) would disrupt the running order, claiming second place until the main GC contenders started to ride. Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) and Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) all put in impressive rides, gaining minutes on the GC. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), looking to move from third to second in GC —and to right some of the wrongs of his previous ITT— would be happy with the result: he finished 25 seconds ahead of Daniel Felipe Martínez (BORA-Hansgrohe), moving him up to second place in the overall standings.

Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) set an impressive pace, but crashed after taking a corner quickly. His right leg was cut and his shorts torn, but he would complete the stage and finish 12th.

But when Pogačar, the last man to start, began, Ganna was still the man to beat, sat in a plastic picnic chair. Pogačar put in an almighty challenge, finishing with over three minutes on his closet GC rivals, but it would not be enough to take the stage from Ganna.

This was Ganna’s seventh-ever stage win at the Giro d’Italia, and his first win of the year. His last time trial win was at last year’s Vuelta. “You are the man,” said teammate Thomas as Ganna was being interviewed.

“I can be pretty content with that,” said Thomas of his own result. “I went into a few of the corners a bit hot, and that got the adrenaline going a bit.

"It was a tough TT. I tried to attack it at the start and felt like I lost it a bit in the middle. It was hard by the end. You try to get most of it out by 10km to go, and then it’s just hanging on. I felt like I limped for a few kilometres to recover and then got going a bit. It’s OK.”