Giro d'Italia: Tadej Pogačar disappointed not to win after tragic death of Pogi Team junior

It says a lot that the mood outside the UAE Team Emirates bus in Turin after the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia was so downbeat. Tadej Pogačar cut a frustrated figure and declined to speak directly with the media, rhetorically asking team officials why the crowd of cameras were not instead going after the winner.

That would imply that Pogačar felt like the loser. And yet, he put 10 seconds into all of his rivals for the pink jersey, on an uncategorised climb, on the opening day of a 21-stage race. Some statement. He was beaten in the three-up sprint by Jhonatan Narváez, but the Ecuadorian is, on paper, a faster finisher. No shame in that.

Read more: Giro d'Italia stage 1: Arensman and Bardet feel the force of Tadej Pogačar's shock and awe

Normal rules, however, do not apply to Tadej Pogačar. Just as his coronation in Rome in three weeks’ time has been painted as a foregone conclusion, it was almost taken for granted that he would start out on that path with victory and the maglia rosa in Turin. The air of total invincibility has now been cracked, even if it's just a hairline.

There was also an added disappointment for Pogačar, who was wearing a black armband in tribute to a member of his junior Pogi Team in Slovenia, who tragically died in a kayaking accident on Friday. After completing a short warm-down, he was understandably keen to escape the public eye, but his team boss Mauro Gianetti indicated he was not only racing for the stage, the time, and the pink.

“He wanted to dedicate the victory, if possible, to the guy of his team who died,” Gianetti told reporters in Turin.

Pogačar placed third on the line along the River Po, having ridden all but two riders off his wheel on the late steep climb of the Bivio di San Vito. Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) had survived from an earlier break, while Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) had clung stubbornly to his wheel on the climb - the only rider form the bunch able to do so - before winning the sprint for the first maglia rosa.

Read more: Giro d'Italia stage 1: Jhonatan Narváez wins as Tadej Pogačar drops all his GC rivals

There was no victory, and an end to the suspicion that Pogačar could emulate Gianni Bugno’s 1990 exploits of leading the Giro from start to finish, but the two-time Tour de France winner did nevertheless gain time on all his general classification rivals. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and the main cluster of contenders were distanced by 10 seconds plus the four bonus seconds for third place, while other danger men like Thymen Arensman (Ineos) and Romain Bardet (DSM) suffered more severe blows.

“It was a short and fast stage, we tried to control the stage but unfortunately it wasn’t our day, but we still did a good job,” Pogačar said in a message later issued by his team. “On the first day of the Giro, there is always some 50-50 in the riders - we saw some riders suffering and some feeling good. Also in our team we go step by step, day by day. Tomorrow is more of a stage suited to us, and we’ll see how the legs are from today’s effort but I think it’s gonna be a nice Giro, very nice start here in Turin.”

Speaking with his team outside the UAE bus, Pogačar noted how Narváez had sat on his wheel for much of the finale. On the climb, that was simply scrambling to stay in contact, while on the flat the Ecuadorian, who’s not a GC threat, could use Pogačar’s potential to gain time as a reason to make him shoulder the work in the final couple of kilometres.

“Narváez was super strong today. He followed the wheel really well,” Pogačar noted. "I tried and I age everything. I still dropped GC riders, so this is a good sign that I had good legs, but when we came to the top I knew Narváez is hard to beat in the sprint.

“I was also a little bit nervous - it’s a long time since I did a sprint with three. I started sprinting too early. I had good legs but Narváez is obviously a faster rider than me and I didn’t have too much chance.”

Pogačar also noted how he “unfortunately had to go from the bottom to the top”, which could perhaps be read as an acknowledgement that he found himself isolated in the reduced group, with only Rafal Majka left after the climbs of Superga and the Colle della Maddalena.

Gianetti, however, played down any question marks over his squad's ability to support their star.

“If there had been someone else there with him on the final climb then we’d have two leaders,” Gianetti countered. “We had to make a decision to work, [to use riders] to bring back the group in order to be able to play the final climb.

“More [important] than the 10 seconds [gained] is to see that he is in good condition, and to see where are the other contenders. It’s nice to win but it’s also good that Ineos has the jersey and some responsibility.”

That might not be the case for long, however. Sunday’s stage 2 sees the first summit finish of the race, up at Oropa, which should prove more selective still. “It’s more suited to us than today,” Pogačar said ominously.

This Giro didn’t follow the script of total domination from day one, but it didn’t give any real reason to suggest it won’t do so from day two.

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