"The goal is to have it at the end in Rome" - Will Primoz Roglic emulate Pogacar and carry Maglia Rosa from stage 2 until Giro d'Italia finish?

Maybe a little sooner than he expected, Primoz Roglic is already leading the 2025 Giro d'Italia on stage 2. Although the Slovenian couldn't cap off a brilliant individual time trial with a stage win, his 2nd placed finish on the day was enough to see him rise to the top of the general classification.

So good as Roglic's effort against the clock that in the end, just 0.0024 seconds separated the 2023 Giro winner and the winner of the stage, Joshua Tarling. "Yeah, I mean, some stages I won with a bit, some stages I lose with a bit, but I don't care overall," Roglic laughs when told the minute difference between his and Tarling's efforts in a post-stage interview. "Like what is important is I'm working well and yeah, I'm super happy with the result anyway. That's more than a consolation prize."

As mentioned, stage 2 is perhaps a little early to be in the Maglia Rosa for a contender, but as shown by Roglic's compatriot Tadej Pogacar last year, it's possible to hold it all the way through. With just a solitary second between Roglic and 2nd placed Mads Pedersen though, the Slovenian's lead isn't exactly comfortable. "I don't really think about it, you know. Tomorrow obviously, is again a nice stage for Mads. So we will see how it goes," Roglic says, not too bothered about potentially losing the lead this early. "For us, it doesn't change much. The goal is to fight for it, and to have it at the end in Rome."

Nevertheless, after such a strong performance and having gained time on all his GC rivals, there is plenty for Roglic to be positive about. "I mean, I knew I'm ready. When I'm healthy and all is okay, I'm good. But you never know how fast the rest are," he says. "Like going on the climb alone, you're always fast, the feeling is good. But when the rest are around, then it's more of a reality of the race. So yeah, obviously really happy with the result today."