Around 2.2 kilometers from the finish line in stage three of the Giro d’Italia, everything was flying by in a blur. It was the kind of moment where you’d almost expect someone to pause the scene and start explaining the craziness to the audience. Geraint Thomas, desperately hanging onto the wheel of a rampaging Tadej Pogačar in the pink jersey, seemed like he might do just that. Out of breath and shoulders hunched forward, he glanced at the camera with an expression that screamed, “How did I get here?”
The Giro has a knack for throwing in little surprises to disrupt the usual sprint finishes. A tricky corner, some cobblestones, or a slight incline just before the end can be enough to shake things up. On stage three, a climb three kilometers from the finish—on what was supposed to be a sprinter’s day—offered just that opportunity for the unexpected. Teams without sprinters, like EF Education-Easy Post, could sense a sliver of a chance amid the twists and turns.
As Thymen Arensman pulled at the front for Geraint Thomas, doing the usual Ineos work, EF’s Mikkel Honoré suddenly charged up on the left side. Tadej Pogačar, in pink and tailing Thomas, must have heard the rush of wheels or the shifting gears as Honoré surged past. With a quick glance, he decided to go for it, too.
There’s a history of GC riders doing things they shouldn’t, like when Chris Froome in yellow led an attack in the 2016 Tour de France. That day, amid chaotic echelons and strong winds, he found himself at the front with Peter Sagan, who seemed to be just enjoying the ride, along with Sagan’s teammate Maciej Bodnar and, of course, Geraint Thomas. It wasn’t planned, but when things fall into place like that, sometimes you just roll with it.
In that Tour stage, the effort to create a mere six-second gap seemed enormous, even though it was just a drop in the bucket compared to Froome’s final winning margin. But in the chase groups behind, riders like Romain Bardet and Nairo Quintana were having a miserable time. Sometimes, even the small victories are worth the extra effort. Offense can be the best defense.
Monday’s Giro stage wasn’t exactly the same, but it had a similar vibe. Pogačar wasn’t racing for any strategic reason; he just seemed to do it because it was fun. Maybe he knew how much the Italian fans would love to see the pink jersey making a dramatic move. Or maybe, in a way that only Pogačar can be, he was simply compelled to chase down a fast-moving wheel.
“Jeepers, man, that was solid,” Thomas remarked after the stage. “He was kicking my head in.”
These unscripted moments are what make the Giro so unique. It’s the purest bike racers, the ones who thrive on these unexpected opportunities, who make the most of them. Thomas, despite not needing to be there, found himself right in the mix, riding alongside the race leader when he could have played it safe. He looked at the camera as if to say, “When the going gets Pogged, you just might as well join in.”
