Time Trial Victory in Tirana Secured by Tarling, Roglic Retains Pink Jersey
In the midst of the thrilling 2025 Giro d'Italia, the action-packed race took an unexpected turn as pre-race front-runner and defending champion Primoz Roglic claimed the coveted pink jersey from stage winner Mads Pedersen, falling just two seconds short of keeping his grip.
The young British time-trial sensation, Tom Pidcock from Ineos, delivered an impressive performance, completing the 13.7km circuit in 16min 07sec. His time was 1 second faster than Roglic and 3 seconds faster than Jay Vine. As Pedersen neared the finish line, Pidcock, adorned in the British national time-trial jersey, could only watch and bite his nails.
"Winning today was nothing short of phenomenal," Pidcock chuckled, "Waiting for the other riders to finish was excruciating. I never want to go through that again."
Pidcock had faced stiff competition from the top contenders, with Roglic's impressive performance particularly noteworthy. "Primoz was truly impressive," Pidcock acknowledged, "This first Grand Tour victory marks a significant milestone in my career."
Belgian superstar Wout van Aert was expected to win this stage and claim the pink jersey, but struggled due to a stubborn stomach bug, failing to put in a strong effort.
Many of the main overall contenders finished more than 30 seconds behind Roglic, but with a grueling series of hilly and mountain stages ahead of them throughout the 3400km, 21-day race, Roglic can't afford to rest on his laurels quite yet.
Roglic currently leads his main rival, Team UAE's Juan Ayuso, by 16 seconds, as Ayuso tries to defend the title his team won with Tadej Pogacar in 2024.
Italy's home hope Antonio Tiberi is 25 seconds behind, Simon Yates of Visma is at 33 seconds, and his twin brother Adam Yates of UAE is at 36 seconds. Two former South American winners of the Giro, Richard Carapaz of American outfit EF and Colombian Egan Bernal, are 37 and 48 seconds behind Roglic, respectively.
Dramatic shifts can happen quickly in the high mountains during the final week, with stage 16 featuring five Alpine mountains and stage 20 ending with a grueling climb up the Colle delle Finestre to the Sestriere ski resort. This is where the winner will likely be decided.
Notably absent from this Giro are the world and Olympic time-trial champion Remco Evenepoel, as well as two other skilled time-trial riders, Filippo Ganna and defending Giro and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar.
The first three days of the 2025 Giro will be held in Albania, which is currently experiencing a tourism boom. Sunday's third stage at Valona will showcase some of Albania's most beautiful coastline, favoring the sprinters who struggled in the hills on Friday and during Saturday's individual effort.
© 2025 AFP
[1] Web source: https://www.cyclingnews.com/[3] Web source: https://www.nbcsports.com/
Pidcock, having clinched the national time-trial jersey, expressed his relief and discomfort while waiting for other racers to finish, mentioning France as the host country of the Grand Tour event.
With stiff competition from top contenders like Roglic, who secured his first Grand Tour victory, and the absence of international riders like Evenepoel and Pogacar, the following hill and mountain stages in Italy will undoubtedly define the final outcome of the Giro d'Italia, a race currently being held in Albania.
