'It's a bloody hard climb' – Pogačar and Thomas face key battle in Giro d'Italia's two-part time trial - stage 7 preview

Few places on Earth have maintained the urban topography of the Middle Ages as diligently as Umbria, where hilltop towns and towers abound. In the regional capital of Perugia, walls that were built centuries ago to keep invaders out now serve to draw tourists in.

Still, Perugia will retain something of its Medieval guise when the Giro d’Italia visits on Friday for the stage 7 time trial. These days, visitors can make the final ascent into the heart of the walled city by way of a series of public escalators, but it will remain a forbidding sort of place for the riders, who face a daunting 8km climb to the finish line on Corso Vannucci.

Hilltop towns such as this have a history of creating unrest and upset in Giro time trials. In 1986, for instance, Greg LeMond was quickest through the intermediate checks in the key time trial to Siena only to find himself hopelessly over-geared on late haul into the city, familiar these days as the finale to Strade Bianche. He lost the time trial to Lech Piasecki and with it, a rare chance to discommode eventual winner Roberto Visentini.

Gearing should not be a concern on Friday given the wide options available on bikes of the 2020s, but the vexing question of pacing remains a fundamental issue, particularly in a hybrid test like this. The length alone – 40.6km – is striking, given the modern tendency towards restricting time trial distances, but the sting in the tail is where the difference will be made. 

“It’s a super long time trial with a hard climb in the end so you have to pace yourself,” warned maglia rosa Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who knows a thing or two about managing a two-part time trial.

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The final climb isn’t as brutal as La Planche des Belles Filles in 2020, of course, nor will a bike change be required, but the transition from an aero tuck to grinding up 16% gradients should not be underestimated.

Pogačar himself knows, of course, that it’s been some time since he produced a time trial display to match the most startling show of force that secured him his first Tour de France title. Indeed, in the sixteen time trials he has raced since surprisingly seizing yellow at La Planche des Belles Filles, Pogačar has won just once, in Laval on the 2021 Tour.

In the past twelve months, Pogačar has ridden against the clock only three times, and with diminishing returns. He won the Slovenian title last June before losing heavily to Jonas Vingegaard at Combloux on the Tour and then coming home a distant 21st at the World Championships.

Over the winter, and with a time trial-heavy 2024 Tour firmly in mind, Pogačar looked to reboot his efforts in the discipline, and he acknowledged that the stage to Perugia had a function beyond the winning and losing of this Giro. It’s also a test run as he prepares to face Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel against the watch in July.

“I want to feel good on the bike, because in the last couple of years there have been a lot of changes,” Pogačar said in Rapolano Terme on Thursday evening. “One of the main goals for the Giro was to come here to be ready for the time trial, so let’s see how good I am so far. It’s also good training for the summer.”

Thomas

Pogačar’s candour on testing himself “for the summer” was a rare slip from a man who has repeatedly insisted that all thoughts of the Tour are firmly parked until after he reaches Rome. The Slovenian will hope, of course, that Friday’s time trial and the following summit finish at Prati di Tivo present him with an early chance to put this Giro beyond the immediate reach of his rivals.

He begins the test 46 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas (Ineos), with Daníel Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) a further second back in third and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) fourth at 55 seconds. While Pogačar insisted he was not the favourite for stage victory, the tough finale means that he will be expected to gain time on most or even all of his GC rivals.

“I’m not actually thinking about losing time or winning time, because in the past it didn’t go well for me, stressing about the time,” said Pogačar, who cited Thomas as the most dangerous of his rivals. “I honestly think G can take some time if he’s really good. The rest need to do one of their best time trials.”

After Pogačar and Thomas opted for a conservative approach on stage 6, which was decorated by gravel rather than defined by it, there will be no holds barred on Friday afternoon. Thomas was a low-key 40th at the Volta ao Algarve time trial in February, but he has the useful knack of delivering consistent displays against the watch on the big occasion, particularly amid the shifting sands of a Grand Tour.

“I don’t know – it’s always a funny one isn’t it, getting on the TT bike now,” Thomas said on Thursday afternoon. “We’ll see. We’ll just have a go. It’s a tough one, you have to pace it well with a hard final, so we’ll see.”

The route

Luke Plapp (Jayco-Alula), who spent much of Thursday’s run across the Tuscan gravel within touching distance of the maglia rosa, made a point of reconnoitring the route of stage 7 earlier in the year. When he spoke with Cyclingnews earlier this week, he confirmed what the roadbook suggested: this a time trial in two parts. The run north from Foligno past Assisi is flat and on smooth, fast roads. The damage will be done on that late climb into the walled city of Perugia.

“It's a bloody hard climb,” Plapp said. “The first 30k mean nothing, to be honest. It’s really about holding back and going quite easy. You’re not going to be anywhere near even threshold power.

“It’s a beautiful place to finish the stage, it will be an amazing atmosphere up there. I’ll try to stay aero and go as easy as I can while going fast in the first 30k, and then that last climb is really tough. That’s where it’s going to be won or lost.”

The road starts to climb after 32km, but the toughest section come on the 2km section from the time check (34km) to Casaglia, where the gradient stiffens to 16%. Although the slope eases thereafter, there are still some double-digit pitches in the closing kilometres.

“The first 2km are quite difficult and then it flattens out a bit again, so it will be important to get back into the aero position there to keep the speed high,” UAE Team Emirates directeur sportif Fabio Baldato told Cyclingnews. “Then it kicks up again in the final kilometre into the city. It’s a nice time trial for Tadej. I’m sure he’ll go well.”

The balancing act of the two-part time trial can shift the entire equilibrium of this Giro ahead of Saturday’s summit finish at Prati di Tivo. A critical 48 hours of the race await. “For sure there’s going to be some rider who overpays in the finale,” Pogačar said. “It’s going to be interesting.”