All one can say about the outcome is; it was a fair fight and the better man won.
Geraint certainly made a fist of it but the result is conclusive enough 
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Thanks for your thread and updates. Look forward to the Tour de France thread. 
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Turning 37 may have done for Geraint! Such a cruel way to end the Giro, Geraint just running out of puff on the final competitive stage. Turned out to be a great Giro despite the number of elite cyclists dropping out. Giau the other day looked even less friendly than I remember it with plenty of snow not yet melted - I have that to look forward to at the beginning of July in the Maratona (if I donât bottle it and dodge the bullet again!).
Peter
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Geraint did say a few days ago that he âokayâ but not 100% âŚmeaning he isnât at the peak of his form. Meanwhile PrimoĹž obviously is on form, plus his advantage of being 6kg lighter than Geraint which would have played a part on the power to weigh ratio on the ITT climb.
I thought it a bit mean on the organisers part to have a very hilly ITT the day after two back to back mountain stages. Yesterday was raced on very tired legs, and regardless to all the top GC guys being in the same boat so to speak, the other favourites to include the national time trial champions didnât seem to bother to perform well, which may translate into not really having a good enough cause or purpose to bang it hard on tired legs.
If the hilly ITT was after a rest-day (or even after a flat stage) the results would probably have been far more interesting, plus a rest-day beforehand can be used to check-out the time trial course route.
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I understand Primoz got up at 6.30 am yesterday and rode that hill. Chapeau to him. I got the impression from the commentary he was the only one that did. 
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Not bad though for a 37 year old to finish the Giro 2nd on GC. Chapeau G but no cigar unfortunately! Doubtless his recovery time will be longer so Iâm not surprised after the previous stages, the fact that Primoz was able to do the same and trial the hill in the morning as well is probably a great indicator of the age difference.
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I was hoping that Thomas would hold it together in the TT but, as others have said, it was obviously a mountain too far and age must have been a factor in that. What is worth noting though, I think, is that Thomas was second in that TT, ahead of many younger than him, so although he looked as if he was struggling he was quick. It was just that Roglicâs TT was outstandingly quick.
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Many thanks, Debs - yet again - for keeping us up to date with all the news and results.
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The showâs no over yet, the final stage 21 starts in a couple of hours 
Anyone want to guess who the lucky sprinter will be?
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There are no non-starters; 125 riders on todayâs Start Line.
<>
Maglia Rosa 
PrimoĹž RogliÄ (Slo) Jumbo-Visma
Maglia Azzurra 
Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
Maglia Ciclamino 
Jonathan Milan (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious
Maglia Bianca 
JoĂŁo Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates
<<>>
Stage 21 is underway!
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Absolute flippin brilliant!!! I wonât say any more 
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Whoop Whoop! What an amazing way for Cav to grab his place in the record books against such a spectacular Roman background and with a mega boost lead out by another ancient monument - Geraint Thomas. Incredible gesture to an old pal on the world stage. Brilliant stuff.
Peter
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STAGE 21 RESULT - ROME > ROME
- Mark Cavendish (GBr) Astana Qazaqstan, in 2-48-26
- Alek Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
- Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè
- Alberto Dainese (Ita) DSM
- Alexander Krieger (Ger) Alpecin-Deceuninck
- Jake Stewart (GBr) Groupama-FDJ
- Fernando Gaviria (Col) Movistar
- Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco-AlUla
- Arne Marit (Bel) IntermarchĂŠ - Circus - Wanty
- Campbell Stewart (Aus) Jayco-AlUla, all same time
<>
GIRO DâITALIA 2023 GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 21
- PrimoĹž RogliÄ (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, in 85-29-02
- Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers at 14s
- JoĂŁo Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates at 1-15
- Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious at 4-40
- Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ) at 5-43
- Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers at 6-05
- Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Jayco-AlUla at 7-30
- Andreas Leknessund (Ned) DSM at 7-31
- Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe at 7-46
- Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers at 9-08
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Debs
As others have already said, thanks very much for pulling all the stats together and sharing on here throughout the Giro. Really appreciate it.
Peter
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Agreed, many thanks for the regular updates.
Disappointing overall result personally. I donât like GC races decided essentially by one day. Like the old Tour de France course where the best Time Trailer always won. But I suspect Roglic would have won whatever once Remco withdrew. He trained for this specific course even if he did ride a mountain bike 
Great seeing Thomas lead out Cav for the win on the final stage.
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As tours go i think it was good in that it remained unpredictable who was going to win until the penultimate stage, would have preferred the final shoot-out stage to be a mountain summit finish event but canât have it all. But lots of jersey swopping (of all colours) during the tour, no dominant team, a good fight out with the KOM too.
Covid was an awful intrusion, and must be so galling for the competitors to get suddenly excluded after all the training and prepâ, âŚmade me wonder what would happen if the Malia Rose was tested + for covid just before Stage 21, probably wouldnât feel right for whoever was no.2 to put that jersey on, but heck lucky that didnât happen! 
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Yes. I thought for a while that Thomas had the beating of Roglic. But perhaps he was just biding his time. Especially given he won after dropping his chain.
There was some great racing throughout. COVID did some damage. Wasnât it the smallest number finishing in years?
97 finished in 2003 - must have been crash injures back then.
Edit: âŚalong with 35 riders OTL (Outside Time Limit) on mountain stage 18
| Year | Participants | No. of dropouts | Day of first dropout | View | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 176 | 51 | 4 | view | |
| 2022 | 176 | 27 | 3 | view | |
| 2021 | 184 | 41 | 2 | view | |
| 2020 | 176 | 43 | 1 | view | |
| 2019 | 176 | 34 | 1 | view | |
| 2018 | 176 | 27 | 1 | view | |
| 2017 | 197 | 36 | 1 | view | |
| 2016 | 198 | 42 | 3 | view | |
| 2015 | 197 | 34 | 2 | view | |
| 2014 | 198 | 42 | 1 | view | |
| 2013 | 207 | 39 | 4 | view | |
| 2012 | 198 | 41 | 6 | view | |
| 2011 | 207 | 48 | 3 | view | |
| 2010 | 198 | 60 | 2 | view | |
| 2009 | 198 | 29 | 2 | view | |
| 2008 | 198 | 57 | 1 | view | |
| 2007 | 198 | 57 | 1 | view | |
| 2006 | 198 | 48 | 4 | view | |
| 2005 | 197 | 44 | 2 | view | |
| 2004 | 169 | 29 | 3 | view | |
| 2003 | 170 | 73 | 1 | view |
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Oops. Sounds like the autobus broke down. I imagine there were lots of angry riders on that day