Ganna clinches ITT victory as Ineos star edges out Pogacar on Stage 14

Ineos Grenadiers star Filippo Ganna clinched a breathless victory from overall leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) in the Stage 14 individual time trial at the Giro d’Italia.

Ganna was left to celebrate a stunning victory in the time trial, but it could have been another special day for Pogacar, who came up just short with his incredible attempt to close out the day’s racing.

Pogacar may have been left disappointed with coming in behind Ganna on the day, but his magnificent showing only served to further consolidate his standing at the top of the general classification.

The 31.2km, pan-flat course finishing on the shore of Lake Garda could have been designed for Ganna, and might well have been marked out with the national champion in mind.

Before he set out at 14:35 local time, however, 54 other riders had to roll out in reverse general classification order. That was one fewer than finished the previous day’s stage, as sprinter Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) opted to leave the race.

Though the first rider to start was the so-called maglia nera Alan Riou (Arkea-B&B Hotels), the first to complete their run was Josef Cerny (Soudal-Quickstep). Three-time Czech TT champion Cerny overtook both the men in front of him to set the first serious time of 36’58.

Cerny didn’t have time to reach the hot-seat before Max Walsheid (Jayco-Alula), Daan Houle (Lidl-Trek) and Edoardo Affini (Visma Lease a Bike) all went quicker.

Everyone was waiting for Ganna, however, and it was no surprise when he set the fastest mark at the first time check, which came 7km in, by 14 seconds.

It was on the middle section of the course that Ganna really began to motor, however, stopping the clock at the second split with 59 seconds over the next fastest man, his own team-mate and former world champion Tobias Foss.

Into the top 10 riders on the general classification, it became about the race within the race. Some were looking to make gains, while others, with less than stellar TT records, will have been hoping to limit their losses. Geraint Thomas was in the former camp, as the first check found him 19 seconds up on second place Dani Martinez (Bora-Hansgrohe). That would become 31 seconds by the finish, enough for them to swap places on the provisional podium.

The real interest was in the maglia rosa, the last to set out on his run.

When Pogacar went four seconds quicker than Ganna at the first checkpoint, the Italian was looking nervous. Surely it couldn’t happen again? The second intermediate saw a 14-second swing back in Ganna’s favour, and he could breathe easier.

Pogacar was the last rider to finish, second on the stage, the only one within a minute of Ganna. Though unable to make it four wins in this Giro, he had made another significant step towards his third Grand Tour victory.

His lead in the pink jersey increased by more than a minute to 3’41, while Thomas was able to reverse his deficit to Dani Martinez. The 15 seconds between them will be nothing with the major climbs to come.

Other big winners in the GC include Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R), whose best-ever Grand Tour time trial result means he cannot be counted out as a podium contender. Norshould Thymen Arensman, whose performance moved him up four places, is now 12 seconds closer to Antonio Tiberi in the young rider stakes.

Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich), Lorenzo Fortunato (Astana) and Einer Rubio (Movistar) were the main losers, all dropping two places, with the Movistar man falling out of the top 10 entirely.

Eight months since his last win, the look on Ganna’s face was one of relief, and the rider commented on the two-hour wait he had to endure in the hot-seat before being sure of the victory.

“Winning in Italy is a really intense moment,” he said afterwards, “especially here, close to the lake. It’s like a second home to me. I’m happy.

“It’s nice to be here and see G [Thomas] arrive really well for the GC. Tomorrow is really intensive and the last week we will need to fight with the heart and the head.”