Primoz Roglic survives late mechanical to win stage 20 and take the Maglia Rosa at the Giro d'Italia
Cycling
On a decisive day at the Giro d'Italia it was Primoz Roglic who took the stage win and moved into the Maglia Rosa despite a late mechanical on a thrilling stage.
Stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia will be the final day for the overall classification contenders. It is likely to be within the distance of 11 kilometres with a flat first half, and a brutal second half. In total, there are 18.6 kilometres, but don't be mistaken all riders will take it conservatively early on, and with a bike chance expected at the base of the final climb.
With space at the top of the mountain tight and riders only being allowed down in cable cars, the day's stage was split up into three different groups. From the first batch of riders it was Thibault Guernalec (Team Arkéa Samsic) who laid down a benchmark for the rest to follow with his time of 48:35 being 1:41 better than his nearest rival, Stephen Williams of Israel - Premier Tech.
When the second batch of riders made their time-trial efforts, numerous riders improved upon the time of Guernalec including some of the stars of the 2023 Giro d'Italia including Ben Healy, Michael Matthews and Thomas Champion.
21-year-old American rider, Matthew Riccitello however, absolutely ripped those times apart. Clocking a time of 46:19 he moved into the hotseat.
When the third batch of riders took to the course, the main GC riders and as such theoretically the best climbers, Jay Vine was the first rider to beat the time over Riccitello by just three seconds.
Vine's teammate Brandon McNulty then went even better. The American posting a brilliant time of 45:30.
Sepp Kuss ensured his fellow American couldn't get too comfortable in the hotseat though, with the Jumbo-Visma super-domestique edging quicker by just two seconds with his time of 45:28.
With each of Almeida, Roglic and Thomas safely through the bike change it was all up to this final, brutal ascent of the Monte Lussari.
At the first time check, Roglic was the quickest but Thomas, just two seconds slower was still in the best position overall.
Thibaut Pinot then went 6 seconds quicker than Kuss, in what must go down as one of the rides of his career which is set to come to an end at the conclusion of this season.
At the second intermediate check, Thomas's deficit had grown to 16 seconds.
Then nightmare struck for Roglic as he got had a mechanical at the worst possible time. Riding straight through a pothole the Slovenian saw his chain drop out.
Both Caruso and Almeida improved on Pinot's time before Roglic, mechanical and all moved into the lead of the stage by a massive 42 seconds.
Then the clock began to tick back to Geraint Thomas. At the last intermediate check, Thomas was 29 seconds down and the Giro was fading away from the Welshman.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Hmmm, you seem to have a very convenient black and white view of things. Perhaps you haven’t been around much to discover how complex problems can become over time with people who know how to control, manipulate (or worse) others so gradually or subtly that you arrive at an irresolvable situation before you realise. This is how many inconveniences get introduced to the young, naïve, passionate or “desperate”, knowing they are not armed, protected or strong enough to defend themselves once it’s too late. Why do you think omerta culture is so widespread, why do you think so many people continue to go through so many awful things in life that others can’t understand anyone getting into? Life may be far more jolly for you but you would do well to understand (or reflect more on) the real world to refrain from being so quick to criticise those in a hard spot that may have genuine reason for speaking out.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- 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
- 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
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🇸🇮 @rogla wins stage 2️⃣0️⃣of the Giro d’Italia!🥇 🇸🇮 @rogla vince la tappa 2️⃣0️⃣ del Giro d’Italia! 🥇 #Giro #GirodItalia @LeFrecce @JumboVismaRoad
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