Thank you for following the live coverage of the last stage of the Giro d’Italia 2024 and see you at the next edition!
Nothing changes, as per tradition, in the general classification with Tadej Pogacar who can celebrate his first victory in the Corsa Rosa, on the podium with the Slovenian there will be the Colombian Daniel Martinez and the British Geraint Thomas. Antonio Tiberi finished fifth behind O’Connor but took home the satisfaction of the Maglia Bianca. Ciclamino shirt for Jonathan Milan and Blue shirt for Pogacar.
Third victory in this Giro for the Belgian from Soudal Quick-step which therefore equals Milan’s victories in this edition. The last stage develops calmly with the group never leaving room for Marcellusi, Costiou, Honoré and Baudin. When the four breakaways of the day are caught, the unexpected happens for Milan who is forced to change bikes, then he does a crazy trick to get back into the group but in the end he pays for the effort and closes behind his opponent.
MERLIER WINS! The Belgian comes out on top almost by a lead over Milan! Third place for Groves, then Gaviria, Aniolkowski, Dainese, Lonardi, Ewan and Grondin.
LAST KILOMETER! 1000 meters to the end of the Giro 2024!
2 KM TO THE FINISH – Pogacar leading the group, incredible form from the winner of this 2024 Giro. In the meantime, Lidl-Trek managed to reach the top positions, putting Milan in the best position for the final sprint.
3 KM TO THE FINISH – Pogacar is in the top positions of the group, the Slovenian will try to help his teammate Molano.
4 KM TO THE FINISH – Milan catches the tail of the group and finds all his teammates ready to tow him towards the head of the group.
5 KM TO THE FINISH – Milan, taking advantage of the wake of the flagships, moves back to 15″ from the group, also finding Storer at the rear of the group.
7 KM TO FINISH – 44 seconds late for Milan who therefore seems cut off from the final sprint.
9 KM TO THE FINISH – PROBLEMS FOR MILAN! Today’s big favorite is forced to stop to replace his bike and will probably have to say goodbye to the possibility of competing in today’s stage.
12 KM TO THE FINISH – Group catching up with the four on the run, now there is maximum attention to try to avoid further falls but, at the same time, the pace must be kept high to avoid attacks at the end.
14 KM TO THE FINISH – Ruinous fall in the group with Storer, tenth of the general, De Pooter and Hofstetter. There don’t seem to be any serious consequences for the three who leave promptly.
15 KM TO THE FINISH – 10″ for the breakaways on the peloton which sees the four attacking in the straight sections.
18 KM TO THE FINISH – Honoré passes first at the Flying Finish Line located on the finish line. The group passes 15″ late.
23 KM TO THE FINISH – Marcellusi, Costiou, Baudin and Honoré resist with 13″ on the group.
30 KM TO THE FINISH – 20″ advantage for the four escapees with the Group still not leaving too much space but not even going to catch them to avoid the attempt of other attackers.
36 KM TO THE FINISH – Costiou passes first at the Intergiro ahead of Marcellusi.
38 KM TO THE FINISH – Four laps to go and the lead of the fugitives is reduced to 16″. Spectacular images coming from the Corsa Rosa with the runners caressing the Colosseum, Vittoriano, Fori Imperiali, Circo Massimo and the Tiber river.
44 KM TO THE FINISH – Thirty seconds ahead for the four in command with the hourly average having risen significantly. The peloton is in single file behind the teams of the main sprinters. Meanwhile, Tim Merlier returned after a 5km chase.
50 KM TO THE FINISH – The escape of the four continues: the Roman Marcellusi, the Danish Honoré and the two Frenchmen Costiou and Baudin. In the puncture group for one of today’s favorites: Tim Merlier.
56 KM TO THE FINISH – Marcellusi wins the flying finish line at the finish line of the second lap. The fugitives continue their adventure but the Group is always there 20″.
60 KM TO THE FINISH – Lidl-Trek, Tudor and Soudal-Quickstep lead the group while the four in the lead have an advantage of around 20″.
68 KM TO THE FINISH – As expected, the race got lively on the first lap on the Fori Imperiali circuit. Marcellusi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizané), Costiou (Arkéa-B&BHotels), Baudin (Decathlon-AGR La World) and Honoré (EF Education Post) quickly took about fifteen seconds on the group. However, Pietrobon’s (Team Polti-Kometa) attempt to get back on the fugitives was useless.
75 KM TO THE FINISH – Domenico Pozzovivo, who took part in the 18th Giro d’Italia of his career, equaling Wladimiro Panizza’s record, crosses the finish line first, honored by the Group and the numerous fans present today.
78 KM TO THE FINISH – The group slows down during the approach to Rome, probably the ball will open once the runners have entered the final 9.5km circuit.
87 KM TO THE FINISH – UAE Team Emirates still leading the group, reaching 50km/h along via Cristoforo Colombo.
94 KM TO ARRIVAL – We continue towards Rome with the compact group.
100 KM TO ARRIVAL – After touching the Tyrrhenian Sea at Lido di Ostia, the group headed back towards Rome. The pace is always quite fast with even a bit of wind to bother the runners.
107 KM TO THE FINISH – Still a compact group and pulled at around 40km/h by UAE Team Emirates.
115 KM TO THE FINISH – The time for celebrations seems to be over, the UAE Emirates team is at the head of the group, setting the pace as we continue towards Ostia.
119 KM TO THE FINISH – The Group also leaves room for Decathlon AG2R La Difesa, winner of the team classification. Then there is also space for the showcase of the four jerseys: Pogacar’s pink, Milan’s cyclamen, Tiberi’s white and the blue jersey, which would still be Pogacar’s, but today is worn by Pellizzari, second in the climbers’ ranking .
121 KM TO THE FINISH – Now there is room for Bahrain Victorious which celebrates the white jersey of Antonio Tiberi, who also came fifth in the general classification.
122 KM TO THE FINISH – The men of UAE Team Emirates literally stop on the side of the road to leave the scene to Lidl-Trek, the team wearing the Jonathan Milan cyclamen jersey, among the favorites of today’s stage.
125 KM TO THE FINISH – Stefano Allocchio officially starts the final stage of the Giro d’Italia, the scene is always for Pogacar and his companions who are always lined up in formation in front of the Group.
OFF TO THE STAGE! The transfer towards km zero is underway, in front of the group is the UAE Team Emirates of the pink jersey Tadej Pogacar.
Good morning and welcome to the live broadcast of the 21st and final stage of the Giro d’Italia 2024 with departure and arrival in Rome.
APPOINTMENT AT 3.30 PM – The Giro d’Italia is ready to start. Follow the live broadcast here and every update in real time from 3.30pm.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PREVIOUS STAGE – High sixth from Pogacar and another good two minutes given to his direct pursuers. The usual large breakaway of the day frays on the first ramps of Monte Grappa, Pellizzari takes advantage of this and leaves the group and overtakes everyone for the first pass on the prestigious GPM, then remains alone in the lead during the second ascent but when Pogacar breaks the hesitation he doesn’t there’s none for anyone. The Slovenian goes to catch the Italian, breaks away from him on the last ramps of the day and flies towards victory at the finish line in Bassano del Grappa in the pink jersey. Nobody manages to counter him or even fight for the back-up positions: Daniel Martinez, Thomas, O’Connor and Tiberi reach the finish line together, effectively freezing the ranking behind the Komenda phenomenon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE STAGE – Final catwalk in the eternal city for the Giro 2024. We start from EUR heading towards Lido di Ostia and then return to the capital and travel the 9.5km long Fori Imperiali circuit eight times. There are no bumps along the 125 km of today’s route and the stage therefore offers the last chance for the sprinters who have been able to conserve energy after the mountain stages.
