Slovenian cyclist Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) won the 106th edition of the Tour of Italy this Sunday, inaugurated by 14 seconds ahead of the second-placed, the ‘smallest’ margin since 1974 and the fourth smallest ever.
This Sunday, Roglic won the 106th edition of the Giro, which ended in Rome, ahead of Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS), a very close second, and 1.15 minutes ahead of Portugal’s João Almeida (UAE Emirates), third.
The 14 seconds for the 2018 Tour champion, who ‘dethroned’ the lead in the ‘chrono’ of the penultimate stage, represent the narrowest margin by a champion in the 21st century, just close to the 19 seconds that were enough for the Canadian Ryder Hesjedal to triumph in 2012, and the fourth shortest ever.
With less ‘slack’ in the win, just two riders (in three editions), starting with the ‘record holder’ of ‘tight’ wins, Fiorenzo Magni, who beat Ezio Cecchi by 11 seconds in 1948 to win the first of three Giro scepters won .
Magni, the oldest cyclist ever to win the ‘corsa rosa’, aged 34 years and 180 days at the time, more than the 33 of ‘Rogla’, also occupies the third position of this peculiar podium because he won that Giro, in 1955, with 13 seconds difference for the ‘legend’ Fausto Coppi.
The great champions are not immune to these small margins and one of the greatest of them all, Belgium’s Eddy Merckx, is also on the list, as he was 12 seconds off the runner-up, Giambattista Baronchelli, in 1974.
On the other side of these seconds is the hour and 57 minutes that distinguished Alfonso Calzolari from Pierino Albini in 1914, more than 100 years ago, counted in times and not points in the first edition.
It was a different world to today, with eight stages five of which are over 400km, and it was even contested in court, with Calzolari accused of being helped by a car.
In the 21st century, the largest margin is that of Ivan Basso in 2006, with 9.18 minutes ahead of Spaniard José Enrique Gutiérrez.
Incidentally, ‘Rogla’ won the Vuelta in 2020 with 24 seconds ahead of the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, but in 2021 had a ‘cushion’ of 4.42 for the Spaniard Enric Mas and with the first victory, in 2019, it was 2.33 minutes for compatriot Alejandro Valverde.
The fourth victory in major Tours, making him the 12th cyclist to win the Vuelta and Giro, allows him to match the achievements of Spaniard Roberto Heras, Switzerland’s Tony Rominger and Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali, all with a ‘tetra ‘, equivalent to the Spanish ‘tri’ with a Giro de Rominger, although Heras only won Vueltas and only Nibali managed the three.
Far, far away are the 11 victories of Merckx, the champion of champions, with five Giros, five Tours and a Vuelta in his history.
Source: DN
