Tadej Pogacar has been utterly dominant in the first week of the 2024 Giro d'Italia. Although somewhat expected on the climbs, the UAE Team Emirates leader has even been a key part of the drama on the sprint stages.
After attacking in the finale of stage 3 alongside Geraint Thomas, Pogacar pretty much singlehandedly brought back the attack of Jhonatan Narvaez to allow the sprinters to battle it out for the win on stage 9. "He was going to stay away if not for Pogacar. It's that simple. Pogacar was definitely the nail in the coffin," EF Education-EasyPost boss Jonathan Vaughters reflected post-stage 9 on Eurosport.
"This is what makes Pogacar so special. He's an all-around bike rider. He can sprint, he's a great bike handler, he's a great time triallist..." continues the American, just in awe of the Slovenian superstar's talents. "He is the modern Eddy Merckx. A lot of other GC riders, even if they wanted to give their sprinter a leadout, they don't have the skills. Whereas Pogacar, no problem."
At the first rest day, Pogacar leads the general classification by 2:40 from BORA - hansgrohe's Daniel Martinez with the Maglia Rosa already seemingly sewn up barring injury or incident. "Leading the race on day nine and he's doing the leadout, getting amongst a super dangerous sprint. The last time I can remember someone in a leader's jersey doing it was Bradley Wiggins [at the 2012 Tour de France]. That was the Champs-Elysees [final stage] not day nine into Naples," adds Adam Blythe on Eurosport in disbelief. "If Pogacar wasn't there, Narvaez was not getting caught. They [sprinters] needed someone like Pog to be able to do that turn."
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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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- there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
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- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Tadej Pogačar dominated the first week of the Giro like no one in the past decade 💪 📸 Getty Images _______ 🇮🇹 #Giro
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