Apart from the last 15 minutes of the Monte Lussari time trial, with Primoz Roglic's chain coming off and the accumulated sweat of an exhausted Geraint Thomas who finally couldn't keep the pink, it wasn't a Giro d'Italia to remember.
We were promised to be very happy with the bestial participation and with the theoretically great route that proved to be wrong considering what cycling is in 2023. Everything started to fall apart with the abandonment of the big favorite, Remco Evenepoel, when he was in pink. From then on it was all downhill.
The main protagonists of this Giro d'Italia 2023 were the escapees. They have not been (for different reasons) Remco, Primoz, G and Joao Almeida. It was Derek Gee, Ben Healy, Nico Denz, Thibaut Pinot and company.
It has been a Giro that we have spent waiting for the next day for something to happen and the next day never came. The organization's ideas ended up going wrong:
1. I put 3 chrono's to attract a star like Remco Evenepoel and after 10 days he leaves for Covid.
2. I put a beastly mountain in the last week, which causes 2 first weeks with nothing and a last one with tremendous marking and almost no attacks.
3. I put the hardest time trial in history in the penultimate stage, which causes everyone to be afraid of it, think that everything will be played there (as it ended up happening) and do nothing until then.
As we say, it has been a Giro d'Italia to forget. Special criticism to Jumbo-Visma and INEOS Grenadiers, the two richest teams of the peloton, which have not proposed absolutely nothing.
Roglic deserved to win in the end because he was stronger on Monte Lussari, where they decided to gamble everything. It's that simple. No more. There was nothing up to that point. Neither Jumbo tried to toughen the race so that at least Roglic could gain seconds with stage bonuses nor INEOS did the same or used Arensman or De Plus as plan B to wear Roglic down and get him more burned at the end.
INEOS Grenadiers brought out its famous 'train', which in this case was more like a little train, as it did not hurt its rivals and its rider lost the race at the end. Always playing the same old game ends up causing defeats...
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Juan LarraCycling Journalist
Juan Larra is a writer for Cyclinguptodate and editor-in-chief of Ciclismoaldia, where he has played a central role since its inception. Under his leadership, the website has become a trusted source for professional cycling coverage, offering in-depth analysis, news, and feature stories.
A sports journalist with over 20 years of experience, Juan earned his degree in Journalism from the University of Seville in 2007. He began his career covering a wide range of sports—including football, basketball, Formula 1, MotoGP, tennis, and cycling—for platforms such as the official La Liga app, Vodafone and Movistar websites, NBA Blogdebasket, and Cadena Cope, honing his skills in writing and editorial management.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Juan contributes to Cyclinguptodate and serves as editor-in-chief for the tennis-focused site Tenisaldia. Throughout his career, he has conducted exclusive interviews with cyclists and sports figures, provided detailed analysis of competitions ranging from local Spanish races to major international events, and acted as a special correspondent at prestigious races including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España.
Juan’s combination of experience, expertise, and direct access to athletes has established him—and the platforms he leads—as authoritative voices in professional cycling.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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Un #Giro resumido en 1'30" La historia de Jumbo resumida en 1'30" (bueno, no suele acabar así en su caso). La historia de Roglic en 1'30". Puro ciclismo, ayer por fin, sí. 🎥 @JumboVismaRoad
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