Matteo Jorgenson "pushed just beyond his limit" trying to follow Tadej Pogacar at Giro dell'Emilia

Matteo Jorgenson has exploded trying to follow Tadej Pogacar at the GP de Montréal and now again at the Giro dell'Emilia. He was the only rider initially trying to follow the Slovenian when he launched his initial attack in the Italian classic, but that did not give Team Visma | Lease a Bike the result they had hoped for.

“The course itself was already tough, but the rain made it extra challenging today. We were in a great position at the crucial moments. Wilco and Matteo were both alert when the peloton split after 150 kilometers," DS Marc Reef said in a press release. "Matteo tried to follow Pogacar on San Luca, but he pushed just beyond his limit, which he couldn’t fully recover from.”

it was right with 38 kilometers to go, the American followed Pogacar when the gap to the main group was created, but couldn't follow him in the 16% gradients. In the spring at the Tour of Flanders he also tried following Mathieu van der Poel on the Koppenberg which led him to explode later on. It is a risky tactic that sometimes works, others not so much... But in the rainy weather conditions Jorgenson was only one of the many big contenders who didn't have legs to contest for a result in the end. Tom Pidcock, Davide Piganzoli and Michael Woods turned out to be a very unlikely trio that proved to be the strongest in the chasing group.

“It was a fair and honest race. Given the strength of the field, we knew it would be difficult to compete for the win. We certainly gave it our best shot, but ultimately every rider ended up where they belonged," Reef admitted. "With his seventh place, Wilco showed that his form is good.” Wilco Kelderman took up the responsibility late in the race and took a decent seventh place in San Luca.