Tadej Pogačar wins in the rain on Monte Pana on stage 16 of Giro d’Italia
Slovenian adds fifth stage victory to his tally after stage start postponed due to freezing wet weather


Tadej Pogačar won his fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, taking victory in the freezing rain on the summit of Monte Pana on stage 16 at Santa Cristina Valgardena
It initially looked like Giulio Pellizzarri (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) would triumph from the breakaway in the horrendous conditions, but the race leader was hungry for another win.
Once he attacked from Rafał Majka’s back wheel, the Slovenian was no match for his rivals and he simply rode away from the rest of the general classification group. Pogačar soon swept up the remnants of the day’s breakaway on the final climb before he eventually caught and passed Pellizzari.
His pink jersey soaked in the rain, Pogačar counted out his individual stage victories on his hand before raising it to the sky in celebration once more as he extended his overall lead in the race.
The Slovenian now has a gap of more than seven minutes on Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) who sits second overall with just a handful of stages left before the finish in Rome on Sunday.
Pellizzarri took second behind Pogačar with Martínez claiming third. The Bora man leapfrogged Geraint Thomas in the overall standings after the Welshman was distanced in the closing moments.
"The day started really on and off and we didn’t know what to do, but when we started it was fine,” Pogačar said after changing into dry clothing. "The breakaway went, and it was good for us, and we sat back and tried to relax but Movistar kept on pushing and kept the breakaway close and then they went really fast on the second last climb."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Pogačar was full of praise for the man who finished second and handed Pellizarri his sunglasses and pink jersey as a souvenir post stage.
"I was thinking that Pellizzari would win today’s stage and he was close and I’m super happy that he arrives second also,” he added.
"I really admire him in this Giro already and he sent me a photo that we took in 2019 I was actually a small kid and he was also a small kid and it was an amazing memory from Strade Bianche and now he’s here and he’s going really strong and maybe he can win a stage this week."
How it happened
The start of the stage was heavily disrupted as a debate over whether or not to include the Umbrail Pass in the route raged on in Livigno. All of the peloton voted in favour of removing the mountain from the course which led to the stage start being postponed as discussions continued.
Eventually the race got underway from Spondigna and was shortened to 120 kilometres with approximately 2,500 metres of elevation removed from the course. The shortened stage led to a rapid start and a four man breakaway soon formed.
With 62 kilometres left to the finish on Monte Pana, Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step), Mirco Maestri (Polti-Kometa), Davide Ballerini (Astana Qazaqstan) and Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-EasyPost) got up the road and soon established a gap of just under two minutes.
The breakaway did not contest the first intermediate sprint of the day in Bolzano as the riders got set for the climbing to begin with the Passo Pinei. With 41 kilometres left to ride the leaders had one minute and 36 seconds over the Movistar led peloton.
As the Passo Pinei started, the breakaways gap began to tumble. Sensing that another stage win was on the cards, Alaphilippe pushed on and soon increased his advantage on the peloton to almost two minutes as his former breakaway compatriots languished in no man’s land on the climb.
With 25 kilometres to go, Alaphilippe had 1:55 on the peloton and was showing no signs of relenting. Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar) launched an attack from the peloton as the Passo Pinnei continued and rapidly swallowed up the remnants of the breakaway as he went in search of the former world champion.
Movistar’s incessant work on the front of the peloton rapidly cut Alaphilippe’s lead to just 28 seconds as the Pinnei continued to decimate the general classification group. With 13 kilometres left, Sanchez suffered a brief mechanical issue on the climb as the Spanish team continued to work to set up Einer Rubio and move the Colombian up on GC.
Alaphilippe managed to push his lead back out to almost a minute on the descent of the Passo Pinei. With six kilometres to go, he began Monte Panna with UAE and Pogačar hot in pursuit in the GC group. The Frenchman was soon caught and dropped by a three man chase group containing Giulio Pellizarri (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè).
The Pellizzari group initially looked like they would contest the stage but Pogačar had other ideas, After being set up by his teammates, the race leader soloed clear from the GC group before catching the trio of riders up ahead.
There would be no stopping Pogačar as he took his fifth win of the race.
Results
Giro d’Italia 2024, stage 16: Livigno > Santa Cristina Val Gardena (Monte Pana)
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 02:49:37
2. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) VF Group–Bardiani–CSF–Faizanè, +16s
3. Dani Martínez (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time
4. Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan, +31s
5. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +33s
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, +38s
7. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +39s
8. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling, +42s
9. Ewen Costiuo (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels, at same time
10. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +45s
General classification after stage 16
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 59:01:09
2. Daniel Martinez (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, +7:18
3. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, +7:40
4. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, +8:42
5. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +10:09
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, +10:33
7. Romain Bardet (Fra) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +12:18
8. Filippo Zana (Ita) Jayco-AIUla, +12:43
9. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar, +13:09
10. Jan Hirt (Cze) Soudal Quick-Step, +14-07
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Tom has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.
Since joining the team, he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow. He has also covered major races elsewhere across the world. As well as on the ground reporting, Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and focuses on coverage of UK domestic cycling.
-
Lidl-Trek riders say they'll 'never go back' to 2x on the cobbles, but why isn’t anyone else using this set-up?
Lidl-Trek's sponsors make it easier for the team to run a 1x mullet groupset grounded in mountain bike tech
By Andy Carr Published
-
'Like a horror movie with a happy ending': how one rider's run-in with a thief came good after his bike was returned in pieces
Zsolt Lokodi's stolen bike was given back to him in bits – but a new one is on the way
By James Shrubsall Published
-
Tom Pidcock’s Q36.5 receive Giro d’Italia wildcard invite along with Tudor Pro Cycling
Team Polti Visit Malta and VF Group BardianiCSF - Faizane also receive invitations from RCS
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Extra wildcard team approved for Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España
Number of teams to increase from 22 to 23 at men's Grand Tours
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tadej Pogačar commemorates Strade Bianche crash with limited edition t-shirt - here's how you can buy it
Part of profits from new t-shirt will go to world champion's charity foundation
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'I came pretty close' - Tom Pidcock left with mixed feelings after finishing second to Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche
Pidcock explains he didn’t want to ‘take advantage’ of world champion’s 'unfortunate' crash
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'Not the best way to win a race' - Tadej Pogačar comes back from dramatic crash to claim third Strade Bianche victory
World champion in 'a lot of pain' after falling into a ditch
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tadej Pogačar crashes into ditch at Strade Bianche, remounts bike to continue
World champion goes on to win race following rare crash
By Tom Davidson Published
-
'When he starts his Tour preparation, we’ll then see Jonas 2.0' - Jonas Vingegaard heads to Paris-Nice almost at full strength, coach says
Tim Heemskerk says the Danish star is not interested in outside noise as he attempts second stage race win of the year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'There's nothing we can do' - Tadej Pogačar is 'almost impossible to beat', says Alberto Bettiol
The world champion is the overwhelming favourite to win Strade Bianche on Saturday
By Tom Davidson Published