'It's a big surprise' - Primoz Roglič strikes first in Giro d'Italia GC battle to take race lead

Primoz Roglič more than lived up to his status of pre-race Giro d'Italia GC favourite in Saturday's time trial in Tirana as the Slovenian managed to distance all his main rivals and simultaneously moved into the overall lead.

The battle for the stage win saw Roglič narrowly defeated and finishing just a single second behind Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), while overall he has an equally slender advantage over Friday's maglia rosa, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).

However, in a 13.7-kilometre time trial, and despite a rising headwind, the veteran Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe leader nonetheless managed to gain 16 seconds on Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Italy's top contender, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), lost 25 seconds, while other potential challengers like Ayuso's teammate, Adam Yates, and Ineos Grenadiers leader Egan Bernal lost 37 seconds and 49 seconds, respectively.

Back in the Giro lead for the first time since he won the race outright in 2023, Roglič's good humour was palpable in his post-stage press conference. 

"For sure, I always want to win, but I don't care so much about the results," the 35-year-old before adding with a grin, "I'm too old to be stressed about the time differences."

Nonetheless, the fact that Roglič had obviously hit the ground running in the 2025 Giro was impossible to miss, and it was particularly noticeable given his lack of time trialing this year. The Red Bull leader has only raced one time trial this season, back in the Volta ao Algarve, which perhaps explained his delight and surprise that he was able to outpower all his rivals so convincingly. As for the other contenders, given the gaps he could take in such a short distance, they were probably just happy that Roglič was racing on a time trial course that he insisted afterwards "didn't suit him."

"I'm happy, definitely, how to say - I didn't really plan it, I was just dreaming to have it and to be able to fight for it in Rome," Roglič said. "So I'm just happy with today's result and with the jersey."

Roglič refused to be drawn about the importance of the time he had taken on his rivals, saying, "there's not much to say there. Obviously, it was not the time trial [course] I wished for, or the one that suited me the best. But really enjoyed it, even if the riding was quite hard."

The time trial route was indeed a far cry from the last Giro TT Roglič had ridden on Monte Lussari, an arduous uphill mountain course. Gears like the 68 chainring he and other top favourites used in the city centre course in Tirana would hardly have been ideal, but in any case, as Roglič said, "the gear itself isn't so important, it's whether you have the power to turn it.

But, regardless of the considerable differences in the route and in the outcome - in 2023 Lussari effectively delivered Roglič the victory, and here his Tirana performance 'merely' means he's off to a cracking start -  afterwards the same man was standing there in pink once again, celebrating another maglia rosa. Two years on, Roglič once again begins to feel like the Giro's man to beat.

"I'm happy I'm functioning well and obviously we put in a lot of work on the time trial bike. I just have to take it day by day and enjoy it, because you never know if it might be the last."

When Roglič has taken the lead early on in Grand Tours in previous years, he's rapidly opted to 'loan it out' to riders who are hypothetically non-favourites in order to ease the pressure of holding the top spot overall. However, that strategy came perilously close to backfiring last year in the Vuelta a España, when outside favourite Ben O'Connor captured the red jersey by over five minutes in a breakaway move, and then Roglič had to fight for nearly two weeks to get it back.

Asked if he was already thinking about the Vuelta and O'Connor, Roglič responded drily that "in that case [of loaning the lead] fewer minutes would be even better, so we will see."

The gaps, in any case, are far smaller at the top of the GC for now and Pedersen  showed in the time trial that he was in great shape as well. The Dane is just one second behind, and with only a minor time bonus needed for him to jump ahead of Roglič on the overall, it would be surprising if Pedersen did not try to regain pink.

"We'll see, there could be some really tough climbs again on Sunday like on stage 1," Roglič pointed out. "Mads is in great shape and they [Lidl-Trek] will definitely try to set it up again for him."

Long-term, though, there can be no doubt that Roglič has got off to the ideal start in his quest to conquer his sixth Grand Tour and second Giro d'Italia. If he already had the ideal condition and race palmares to try and do that, after the Tirana time trial, his morale is surely in a pretty good place as well.

Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our 2025 Giro d'Italia coverage. Our team on the ground will bring you all the breaking news, reports, analysis and more from every stage of the Italian Grand Tour. Find out more.