Tadej Pogačar may not have seized the pink jersey on the first day of the 2024 Giro d’Italia, but the number-one GC favourite nonetheless still managed to make a significant statement of intent with a searing late attack and third place behind stage winner Jhonathan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) and runner-up Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe).
As widely predicted, the organisers' decision this spring to insert the steep, unclassified ascent of the Bivio di San Vito into stage 1 proved critical in Pogačar’s master plan, as the Slovenian star blasted off from the foot of the climb and was all but clear by the summit.
