Georg Steinhauser Breaks Solo To Win Stage 17 At 2024 Giro, Pogacar Leads

German rookie Georg Steinhauser won the 17th stage of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, and Tadej Pogacar strengthened his lead at the top of the overall standings.

May 22, 2024 by AFP Report

Georg Steinhauser Breaks Solo To Win Stage 17 At 2024 Giro, Pogacar Leads

German rookie Georg Steinhauser won the 17th stage of the 2024 Giro d'Italia on Wednesday, and Tadej Pogacar strengthened his huge lead at the top of the overall standings.

The 22-year-old EF rider, who escaped on a solo mountain romp, is the nephew of former Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana champion Jan Ullrich.

He also was notably third over the line on the challenging Queen stage Sunday.

On Wednesday, Steinhauser claimed his first professional win after going it alone with around 30 kilometers left and finishing the punishing final Passo del Brocon climb after 159 kilometers of riding from Selva di Val Gardena.

He broke away with Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier with 50 kilometers left, then dropped the Eritrean to close out the win.

"It's something unbelievable," Steinhauser said. "I knew I had good legs. I thought maybe I have the legs to win a stage. Today, already when I rode to the sign on, I thought to myself, 'I have good legs, maybe I will win today'."

Steinhauser crossed 1 minute, 23 seconds ahead of Pogacar, who made his own burst from the pink jersey group in the final two kilometers and extended his lead over Daniel Martinez to 7 minutes, 42 seconds.

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'I Was Super Nervous'

There was a moment when it looked like Pogacar might try to repeat Tuesday's stunning win when he overtook Giulio Pellizzari in the final kilometer.

Pogacar now leads Dani Martinez by 7 minutes, 42seconds and Geraint Thomas by 8 minutes, 4 seconds, while Ben O'Connor is at 9 minutes, 57 seconds and Antonio Tiberi is at 10 minutes, 29 seconds.

Team UAE leader Pogacar is aiming to take the Giro before going for a third victory in July's Tour de France.

"I was just in my zone," Steinhauser admitted. "I was super nervous on the last climb. I knew I had to push all the way to the finish. I heard that he was catching up, but it was already 2 kilometers to go, so I thought 'I will make it'."

Thursday's 18th stage is a 178-kilometer flat run between Fiera di Primiero and Padova, which will leave space for the sprinters to battle for a stage win.

The sprint points race is led by Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek on 284 points, with Australia's Kaden Groves second on 175. There's another flat stage scheduled for Sunday's finale in Rome.

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