The 2024 edition of the Giro dell’Emilia proved to be particularly challenging on Saturday due to difficult weather conditions. While Tadej Pogacar won for the first time as world champion, Rémy Rochas was the only rider from the Groupama-FDJ cycling team to reach the finish, in twenty-first position. The Italian campaign continues on Sunday with the Coppa Agostoni.
As usual, and as it had been earlier this year on stage 2 of the Tour de France, the climb to San Luca was set to decide the winner in the Giro dell’Emilia this Saturday, especially since it had to be done no less than five times in the last forty kilometres. Before that, an early breakaway made of Dimitri Peyskens, Benjamin Thomas, Roberto Carlos González, Ander, Alessio Martinelli and José Ramón Muñiz led the way, but the peloton caught them before the first climb of San Luca, following an acceleration in Montechiaro, twenty kilometres earlier. A selected peloton eventually entered Bologna for the last hour of racing. “The weather conditions made the race very hard with the rain and the cold”, explained Thierry Bricaud. “It came down to the legs when we got to the finishing circuit. David was not having a great day. He was caught in a split before the circuit, and even if the group came back a little later, it was not worth pushing it given the final ahead”.
“It was a good return to racing for Rémy”, Thierry Bricaud
The Breton abandoned a bit later, like many competitors, while Tadej Pogacar took advantage of the very first time up the San Luca climb to go solo. The Slovenian put on another show, while a group of about twenty riders battled for the remaining places in the last thirty kilometres. “Rémy was in a good position, it was a good return to racing, a month after the Vuelta”, added Thierry. “He just ran out of energy in the end, the last half hour was a bit hard for him, but it’s promising for the future, and he will continue to progress for the last races”. Still in contention for the podium at the start of the last lap, the French climber eventually took twenty-first place, almost three minutes behind the winner. Only about fifty riders actually finished the race. On Sunday, the Italian campaign will continue with the Coppa Agostoni. “We will take the start with Romain, who will be fresh, with the winner of the Il Lombardia U23, Brieuc, and we will remove David from the group as was planned,” concluded Thierry.
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