Roglic gets helping hand from old teammate
The two lives of Primoz Roglic were linked together when a former ski jumping teammate pushed him towards the overall title at the Giro d’Italia.
Mark Cavendish got some help from a former teammate, too, when the British sprinter won yesterday’s final stage with a leadout from Geraint Thomas — less than a week after announcing he will retire at the end of the season.
In a sport where meticulous planning can only go so far, it was two unexpected circumstances that propelled Roglic and Cavendish atop the podium.
One of the key moments for Roglic came in Sunday’s mountain time trial when he rode over a pothole and his chain popped loose on one of the steepest sections up to Monte Lussari.
After Roglic put the chain back in place by himself and was aided by a Jumbo Visma team staff member, another man wearing a red shirt ran down the mountain and helped push him back into action — and then kept running alongside for encouragement.
Roglic went on to win the penultimate stage and take the pink jersey from Thomas before yesterday’s mostly ceremonious ride over the cobblestoned streets of Rome.
Roglic yesterday confirmed the man in the red shirt was Mitja Meznar who, along with Roglic, was a member of the Slovenian squad that won gold in team ski jumping at the 2007 junior Nordic world championships in Planica, Slovenia, and Tarvisio — the same town where Monte Lussari is located.
“I didn’t speak with him yet because I was too much focused when I saw him [on Sunday]. I just put my chain back on and I looked down. I was just thinking, ‘Push, push, push,”’ Roglic said.
“He’s a super good friend, you can say my roommate,” Roglic added, marvelling that it happened in the same place as their ski jumping title. “So it’s just incredible.”
The 33-year-old Roglic stopped ski jumping in 2012 and took up cycling and has now won a fourth Grand Tour to go with his three Spanish Vuelta titles.
Meznar competed in ski jumping at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Roglic, the first Slovenian to win the Giro, finished 14 seconds ahead of Thomas and 1m 15s ahead of Joao Almeida in the overall standings.
It’s the smallest finishing gap between the top riders in the Giro since Eddy Merckx won by 12s ahead of Gianbattista Baronchelli in 1974.
Riding a pink bike and wearing a pink helmet and pink socks, Roglic took it easy during the 135km stage that concluded next to the Roman Forum.
Cavendish claimed the 54th Grand Tour stage win of his career — and he had Thomas to thank for it. The pair were together at Team Sky more than a decade ago and have also been teammates for years with Britain at the world championships.
“I kind of said jokingly, ‘Fancy leading out?’” Cavendish said. “[Thomas] just shouted, ‘Cav,’ and just went. He’s so special. For 25 years, he’s been one of my best friends. To see how optimistic he is despite losing the maglia rosa. That’s him down to a T. It’s how he’s always been.”