ROME — Tadej Pogacar won the Giro d’Italia on Sunday with the race’s biggest margin of victory in nearly six decades, earning a third Grand Tour trophy to go with his two Tour de France titles.
Pogacar, riding a pink bike to go with his pink jersey, shorts and helmet, crossed safely in the main pack to conclude the mostly ceremonial final stage of the three-week race, ending with an advantage of 9 minutes, 56 seconds over runner-up Daniel Martinez. Geraint Thomas finished third overall, 10:24 behind.
The last time there was a bigger margin of victory in the Giro d’Italia came in 1965, when Vittorio Adorni won by 11:26.
Pogacar, a 25-year-old from Slovenian who rides for UAE Team Emirates, also won six stages in the race, the most since Eddy Merckx also won six in 1973.
“Winning any bike race is important, but winning the Giro, especially like this, is really incredible,” Pogacar said.