Giro 2024 Hat Trick For Jonathan Milan, Tadej Pogacar Poised For Weekend

Jonathan Milan claimed a hat trick of wins in the 2024 Giro d'Italia, flying to victory in the 13th stage, as Tadej Pogacar maintained his overall lead.

May 17, 2024 by AFP Report

Giro 2024 Hat Trick For Jonathan Milan, Tadej Pogacar Poised For Weekend

Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan claimed a hat trick of wins in the 2024 Giro d'Italia on Friday, flying to victory in the 13th stage, as Tadej Pogacar maintained his overall lead.

Leader of the sprint points standings, Milan strengthened his hold on the mauve jersey after dominating the rest of pack in a mass bunch sprint finish at Cento in Emilia-Romagna to add to his wins in the fourth and 11th stages.

"I'm so happy," said the 6-foot-4 (1.8 meters) rider. "My team did a really huge job catching up with the lead group to put us in the sprint."

Ahead of two crunch stages this weekend, nothing changed for UAE rider Pogacar at the top of the overall standings, the Slovenian holding his 2 minute, 40 second advantage on Colombian Bora leader Daniel Martinez.

Inoes veteran Geraint Thomas lurks in third at 2 minutes, 56 seconds and has been riding under the radar with the intention of peaking in Week 3.

The race, however, is far from over. On Saturday, a 31-kilometer individual time trial is followed by Sunday's "monster" 220-kilometer mountain stage, with a latent threat for wholesale change in the standings.

A similar pair of stages in the Alps on the 2023 Tour de France laid waste to Pogacar's campaign to win a third French Tour.

But the 25-year-old remains the man to beat, as he towers above the field in his debut Giro in a boldly declared bid to win both the Italian race and the Tour de France this season.

"I've been preparing for this every day, and I'm hoping to have the best legs possible," said Pogacar, who warms down with a spell on his time trial bike after each stage. "It's a three-week race, so there's a long way to go, and each day can be important."

Pogacar hinted he might not go all out in the time trial.

"You have to be careful not to dig too deep," he said. "Because Sunday's stage is a monster, it will be the toughest mountain stage I've raced yet."

Sunday's finish line is at a 2,385-meter altitude at Mottolino and could suit Martinez, Australia's Ben O'Connor or French climber Romain Bardet, all of whom are in the running for the podium.

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