Cycling 101: Titans of Cycling

Today’s stage had a course that weaved in and out of Slovenia. The finishing town, Nova Gorica, sits on the border of Italy and Slovenia (think Kansas City). Upon entering Slovenia there were enormous crowds enthusiastically cheering on the peloton, and their hometown hero, Primož Roglič. Roglič is one of the biggest names in cycling, and one of the most accomplished riders in this edition of the Giro.

Not racing this year’s Giro, however, is the most famous cyclist in contemporary cycling: Tadej Pogačar. Pogačar is a cyclist on UAE Emirates and has won the Tour de France three times, and won the Giro last year. Pogacar is the highest paid cyclist in the sport, with an annual salary of over 8 million euros a year, and he is up in the ranks of greatest cyclists of all time.

Roglič is in a different stage in his career, at 35 years old, has won the Giro in the past, and has won the Vuelta a number of times. Roglič and Pogačar have made Slovenia one of the biggest cycling countries in the world. The fans out on the course today certainly reflected the country’s stature in the sport.

The Stage

After rains earlier in the day, a crash in the final 25 km wreaked havoc in the GC. Del Toro keeps the pink jersey and put in a minute lead over his teammate Ayuso and other major GC contenders including Roglič. (Del Toro is the first Mexican in history to wear the pink jersey in the Giro!) Due to the crash, which created gaps in the peloton, Simon Yates moved up to second place in the GC, Ayuso is down to third, Carapaz is fourth, and Roglič is sitting in fifth. Altogether, the top ten is separated by less than three minutes. This definitely sets the stage for an exciting major mountain stage tomorrow before the final rest day of the Giro on Monday.

Kasper Asgreen, a Danish rider on EF Education EasyPost won the stage from the breakaway. The last man standing from the breakaway after a long day out front in a breakaway of three riders that was never given more than a minute and half of clearance. However, due to the rain and the technical finish (tight turns, narrow roads, obstacles on the road, etc.), the peloton was unable to bring the break back and through sheer determination, Asgreen managed the win. Like I said earlier, he defied gravity a bit today.

The Dish

Today I made a pan roasted pork recipe. It would have probably been better if it hadn’t been so similar to the white wine pan chicken I made yesterday, but I lightly dredged it in flour to help the pork create a good crust and keep it most, and added some Kalamata olives. I paired it with roasted asparagus that I picked up at the farmers market this morning!

Ciao!