‘Before the start I’m told my bike is too long’ – Giro d’Italia time trial winner didn’t have it easy
Primož Roglič took the win on Sunday's time trial at the Giro d'Italia but he did it on a bike with a low saddle, no water bottles and no cycle computer
Few would have predicted before the start of the Giro d’Italia that LottoNL-Jumbo‘s Primož Roglič would have won the stage nine time trial in Chianti.
The Slovenian former ski jumper went out early in the day and avoided the rain on the 40km course through the vineyards and his time stood until the end of the day.
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But the 26-year-old didn’t have it all his own way on the day, overcoming several challenges before and during the race that would have thrown many riders off kilter.
Writing on his website after the stage, Roglič – who came a very close second to Tom Dumoulin in the opening time trial in Apeldoorn – explained his predicaments.
“[It was] only two minutes [before the] start when I leave for the ramp, and the race commissaire tells me that my bike is too long,” he wrote.
“WHAT?! As usual in those situations, there is no one from my team, finally I find the team car and sports director gives me a spare bike, I arrived at the start line 20 seconds before I start. Then I realised, the saddle is too low, I don’t have any bottles, and I am cursing.”
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Not only did Roglič ride an ill-fitting bike for 50 minutes on Sunday but he also rode most of the challenging course ‘blind’ after he lost his cycling computer and had no idea what his power data was for the rest of the race.
“At approximately 10km of the race, my Pioneer [power meter] flies from my handlebars and hits the ground,” he added.
“I tried to show to my team car that I have lost something, but had no luck with that either. I was angry and felt good on the climb, and since I’ve lost the meter I had to go all in, full gas.”
So next time something goes wrong for you before a race or a time trial, remember that all is not lost and you can go on to win. It helps if you’re an elite athlete though…and have a really good time trial bike…