Pogačar remains a contender in the Giro's time trial race once more.
Only Tadej Pogačar has the chance to win the Giro d'Italia. The Slovenian rider impressively held his own in the second time trial, although he missed out on the stage victory. Pogačar increased his lead in the general classification before the tough mountain stage.
Tadej Pogačar showed no signs of weakness during the second and final time trial of this year's Giro d'Italia and expanded his overall lead. Nevertheless, he had to settle for second place after a 31-kilometer mostly flat course from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda. Two-time time trial world champion Filippo Ganna (Italy/Ineos Grenadiers) claimed the win, beating Pogačar by 29 seconds. The top German was Max Walscheid, who finished in 15th place, 1:48 minutes behind.
Pogačar now has a lead of 3:41 minutes over Great Britain's Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) in the general classification. Thomas, the winner of the 2018 Tour, replaced Daniel Felipe Martinez (Colombia) as the top German in second place. Martinez lost 1:16 minutes to Pogačar and finished the time trial in 14th place. Thomas was fourth in the maglia rosa, 45 seconds behind the Slovenian.
Philip Bauhaus is no longer a contender in the time trial battle. A day after finishing third in the sprint finish of stage 13, the 29-year-old from Bocholt withdrew. Bahrain-Victorious announced on X that "the remaining eight stages will not suit Phil," and he will focus on his upcoming races and goals. Bauhaus placed third in the sprint finish on Friday in a 179-kilometer stage from Riccione to Cento, behind Italian Jonathan Milan and Polish rider Stanislaw Aniolkowski. Bauhaus had also finished third on stage 4.
On Sunday, the Giro heads back to the high mountains, with 5400 meters of elevation change over 222 kilometers between Manerba and the finish in Livigno, which is 2400 meters above sea level. The second rest day follows on Monday. The Giro concludes in Rome on May 26.
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Source: www.ntv.de
