A scare, great performance and victory for Pogacar, who already wears the pink jersey in the Giro

The stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia 2024 was the first with a summit finish and after an inaugural stage where victory slipped away by the minimum, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar did not forgive again. Pogacar won a stage marked by the memory of the legendary Marco Pantani and did it with an exhibition and even with a small scare caused by a puncture.

Tadej Pogacar wins stage 2 of the Giro and wears pink

The stage began with a giant banner paying tribute to Pantani displayed on a bridge, recalling his feats in the mountains. And it was precisely in this emblematic scenario where Tadej Pogacar has written the first chapter of what could be the feat of winning the Giro and the Tour, something that no cyclist has achieved since Pantani did it in 1998 for the last time.

The stage started with an early breakaway of 5 Italian cyclists: Christian Scaroni, Andrea Piccolo, Davide Bais, Filippo Fiorelli, and Martin Marcellusi. But the peloton had control of the stage and finally the stage was decided in the last kilometers.

However, the race had a significant setback just before the action began. After passing through Oasi Zegna, a third category climb, the breakaway had been reduced to Piccolo and it was already clear that the victory was in the group where INEOS and UAE were setting a very high pace. 11 km from the finish, when everyone started to take positions, Pogacar suffered a puncture in the front wheel that ended in a fall and a monumental anger from the Slovenian with his team for not assisting him earlier. An incident that once again reminded of Pantani with a similar mechanical failure that he suffered 25 years ago.

Puncture, fall, and tremendous anger

Pogacar's setback at a decisive moment before the final ascent to the Santuario di Oropa.#GirodItalia | #LaCasadelCiclismo pic.twitter.com/QRKFAtZGO0

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) May 5, 2024

Nothing that couldn't be resolved with another display of power and resistance. Just what Pogacar offered first to reconnect with the group and then to launch an attack uphill 4 kilometers from the finish. A move that allowed Tadej to distance himself from all his rivals and win the stage with a 27-second advantage. A victory that also earned him to wear the Maglia Rosa for the first time and enter the select club of cyclists who have achieved stage victories in the three Grand Tours: Giro, Tour, and Vuelta.

Stage 2 Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 3:54:20
2. Daniel Felipe Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:27
3. Geraint Thomas (INEOS-Grenadiers) +0:27
4. Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana) +0:27
5. Florian Lipowitz (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:27
6. Michael Storer (Tudor) +0:30
7. Cian Uijtderbroeks (Visma-Lab) +0:30
8. Einer Rubio (Movistar) +0:30
9. Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl Trek) +0:35
10. Jan Hirt (Soudal-QuickStep) +0:37

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 7:08:29
2. Geraint Thomas (INEOS-Grenadiers) +0:45
3. Daniel Felipe Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:45
4. Cian Uijtderbroeks (Visma-Lab +0:54
5. Einer Rubio (Movistar) +0:54
6. Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana) +1:05
7. Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl Trek) +1:09
8. Jan Hirt (Soudal-QuickStep) +1:11
9. Esteban Chaves (EF First) +1:24
10. Ben Oconnor (Decathlon AG2R) +1:24