"That will cost him about an hour of time at the finish every day" - Could having the Maglia Rosa so early prove a burden for Tadej Pogacar at the Giro d'Italia?

Although some predicted Tadej Pogacar to wear the Maglia Rose through the entirety of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, it took the Slovenian until stage 2 to move into pink. Could having the race lead so early become a burden though? This is the hypothesis of Sporza commentator Renaat Schotte.

"Is Pogacar untouchable in this Giro? Everyone says so. Everyone thinks he will now keep the pink jersey until Rome," assesses Schotte post-stage 2 at the Giro d'Italia for Sporza. "I say 'no, he is not untouchable' because the race is still so long. Pogacar has that pink jersey now, but that will also cost him about an hour of time at the finish every day (podium ceremony and interviews ed). That's an hour less recovery, sometimes it's even an hour and a half. You carry that with you in a Grand Tour."

Although one hour less of sleep and recovery a night might not seem like too much of a big deal, even the great Tadej Pogacar could feel the effects of the accumulated loss during the race. "Pogacar may still be the superman he is, but he is only human," assesses Schotte. "Due to the special dynamics of this Giro, with an uphill finish on day 2, we will certainly see surprises in the final week and riders who fail."

Regarding the UAE Team Emirates team as a whole however, Schotte also has concerns. "The UAE team is on track. But here and there questions are already being raised about its strength. Pogacar himself said that he was one man short of making a difference on the San Vito," he explains. "After Rafal Majka passed the sceptre just over 4km from the end, Pogacar still managed to ride away from the competition. At the moment of the attack you had the feeling that Pogacar would take a minute. He ran well, but at the finish the difference was only 27 seconds. That indicates a slightly slower final kilometre for Pogacar."