Primoz Roglic rode to Giro lead in a 68-tooth chainring - "I managed… though I don’t know how"
Cycling
More and more nowadays riders are taking on bigger chainrings in the time-trials so as to power through with a higher pace in the flat roads. This leads to some quite astonishing gear ratios and Primoz Roglic has revealed which one he was riding towards the pink jersey.
"Not really. I mostly wanted to lose as little time as possible. I didn’t think this was the kind of time trial that suited me best, but in the end, I actually enjoyed it," Roglic said in a press conference following the win, as reported by IDLProCycling. "It was tough out there, but time trials always are."
Roglic missed out on the win by a mere second on Joshua Tarling, but was faster than all the riders who had ridden in the peloton on stage 1 and so he jumped into the race lead. He did so with a chainring of... "68. The heavy gearing isn’t the problem, it’s the force I need to apply that makes it hard. But I managed… though I don’t know how!"
The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe is not going to try and hang on to the race lead with maximum focus yet as he does not want to burn his team before the key stages of the race, but is equally not diappointed with not having taken the stage win already in Tirana:
"Of course you always want to win, but it doesn’t really matter that much to me whether I win or not. I’m too old for that now. I’m healthy and I’m performing, so this pink jersey is a nice surprise for me. I’m satisfied."
This is also fruit of the work put in during the winter, where new staff was brought into the team including former INEOS Grenadiers aerodynamics expert Dan Bigham. "Yes, of course. We’ve put a lot of work into it. Dan and especially John Wakefield have a lot of expertise. But we also need time to bring all those smart minds together and optimize things. We’re working on it, and we’ll see how far we can go. So far, it’s going well."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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