Jakob Omrzel ended Luke Tuckwell's dream of winning the Giro d'Italia Next Gen, with the Australian unable to stay with Omrzel and eventual stage winner Jorgen Nordhagen on the late climbs of the final stage around Pinerolo.
On Saturday, Tuckwell celebrated his 21st birthday and kept the jersey on the important mountain stage to Prato Nevoso. However, his lead was down to just 11 seconds before the final stage in northern Italy, near Turin.
Tuckwell's Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies team controlled much of the 127km stage, but Omrzel and Nordhagen got a gap on the second time over the Prarostino climb with 15km to go. Tuckwell chased all the way to the line but finished 17 seconds down, losing the maglia rosa to Omrzel by 12 seconds after the time bonuses were calculated.
"It speaks for itself: Nordhagen and Omrzel had more left in the tank than me," 21-year-old Luke Tuckwell said sportingly.
"I was on my limit, I rode as hard as I could, but I couldn’t kick. Up to that moment, it was going well. We got over the climb the first time with three guys, and we were controlling the race. The team has been incredibly strong."
The Giro Next Gen was still a breakthrough result for Tuckwell. He was tenth overall in 2024 and has clearly improved after joining the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies team.
"Had you told me one week ago that I’d be second in the Giro NextGen, I would have been happy with it. But now I’m disappointed. However, I’ve learnt a lot this week. Last year I had an indication that maybe I could be a GC rider and this week I’ve proven to myself that I can be."
The Giro Next Gen confirmed the huge potential of a number of riders, including Tuckwell's Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies teammate and Junior world champion Lorenzo Finn of Italy.
20-year-old pure climber Nordhagen appears to be Visma's next stage race talent, while Omrzel is a new Slovenian stage racer to watch. 20-year-old Pavel Novák (MBH Bank Ballan CSB) won the Prato Nevoso stage and finished third overall at 35 seconds.
"It’s something incredible to win the Giro NextGen on my first participation, I didn’t expect that," Omrzel said after showering his Bahrain teammates with Prosecco.
"I’m not the next Pogačar, I’m the young Omrzel. I don’t realise that my first under-23 victory is the Giro NextGen overall. It's yet to get in my head what I’ve achieved. I’m proud of it, but I can’t find the right words.
"This comes only a few months after my very bad crash at the Giro della Lunigiana. When I was at the hospital, I was hoping to come back; I never stopped believing I’d do it. It would be too quick for me to take part in the Giro d’Italia next year, so I think I’ll come back to defend my title at Giro Next Gen."
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