Giro d'Italia

Stage 21: Roma - Roma

IT Italy Sunday 26 May 2024 125 km

Giro d’Italia: Rome belongs to Tim Merlier

Giro d’Italia: Rome belongs to Tim Merlier

Tim Merlier entered the history books by becoming the first Belgian in the last 46 years to win three bunch sprints at a single edition of the Giro d’Italia. One of the most successful riders in the peloton this year, Tim capped off his best and most memorable Grand Tour run to date, leaving his mark in Fossano, Padova and Rome and confirming he is the best sprinter in the world with ten wins already under his belt since the month of February.

Rome welcomed the peloton for the 50th time in history with a 9.5km circuit that included some tricky corners and a 200m cobblestone stretch just before the line, which made for a hectic finish that lacked any sprint train dominating the final kilometers. After being brought to the front of the peloton by the excellent Luke Lamperti and Bert Van Lerberghe, Merlier opened the sprint from the distance – just like in Nokere Koerse – and took a crushing victory not far from the Colosseum, in the process hitting a mindblowing maximum speed of 70km/h.

I am incredibly happy with this victory, it feels great to conclude the race like this!

“I didn’t have my best day today, as I came to the start after a day of suffering on the Monte Grappa, but I am delighted I could pull it off. It was very hectic to be in a good position, but I found some space at the right moment and could launch my sprint. I had a lot of confidence, as I loved going full gas on the cobbles, and I was confident in my Specialized SL8. I am happy for myself and for this amazing team that we could end the Giro in style, in this perfect setting that Rome had to offer”, said Tim after signing off our team’s 123rd Grand Tour victory.

The 31-year-old Belgian wasn’t the only Soudal Quick-Step rider to take to the podium in Rome, with Julian Alaphilippe also enjoying his well-deserved moment in the spotlight after completing his debut Il Giro. The charismatic Frenchman animated the race with his swashbuckling style, making the breakaway for a total of eight times and constantly attacking, be it on the flat, hills or in the mountains. Alaphilippe was rewarded for his fantastic never-say-die attitude with an unforgettable victory in Fano, after more than 125 kilometers in the break, and again on Sunday, where he was named the most combative rider of the whole race, a performance he achieved also at the 2019 Tour de France.

I enjoyed the whole Giro d’Italia. We had a beautiful team here and a fantastic atmosphere, which made these three weeks go by much easier.

“I loved every single moment spent in the race, I loved the fans and the way they welcomed us and cheered for us every day. The stage I won made me so happy, it was a dream to complete my Grand Tour stage wins set. At the end of the day, it has been a memorable race for us and we can all be proud of the way we fought and of what we did here”, said Alaphilippe after the podium ceremony.

Jan Hirt rounded out Soudal Quick-Step’s excellent Giro d’Italia by finishing eighth overall after producing a string of solid rides in the mountains that saw him become the seventh rider in the history of the squad to conclude top ten overall at the Corsa Rosa.

 

Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images

Race details

1 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
2:51:50
2 Jonathan Milan
Lidl - Trek
0:00
3 Kaden Groves
Alpecin - Deceuninck
0:00
4 Fernando Gaviria Rendon
Movistar Team
0:00
5 Tim van Dijke
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
0:00
6 Stanisław Aniołkowski
Cofidis
0:00
7 Alberto Dainese
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
0:00
8 Giovanni Lonardi
Team Polti Kometa
0:00
9 Caleb Ewan
Team Jayco AlUla
0:00
10 Donavan Grondin
0:00
41 Jan Hirt
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
70 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
90 Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
126 Josef Černý
Soudal Quick-Step
3:12
133 Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step
5:33
135 Pieter Serry
Soudal Quick-Step
5:33
138 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
6:15
1 Tadej Pogačar
UAE Team Emirates
79:14:03
2 Daniel Felipe Martínez Poveda
BORA - hansgrohe
9:56
3 Geraint Thomas
INEOS Grenadiers
10:24
4 Ben O'Connor
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
12:07
5 Antonio Tiberi
Bahrain - Victorious
12:49
6 Thymen Arensman
INEOS Grenadiers
14:31
7 Einer Rubio Reyes
Movistar Team
15:52
8 Jan Hirt
Soudal Quick-Step
18:05
9 Romain Bardet
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
20:32
10 Michael Storer
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
21:11
30 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
1:47:43
48 Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step
2:35:58
78 Pieter Serry
Soudal Quick-Step
4:00:53
117 Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step
5:15:06
135 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
5:40:20
138 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
5:46:04
141 Josef Černý
Soudal Quick-Step
5:55:35
1 Jonathan Milan
Lidl - Trek
352 pt
2 Kaden Groves
Alpecin - Deceuninck
225 pt
3 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
193 pt
4 Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step
132 pt
5 Tadej Pogačar
UAE Team Emirates
126 pt
6 Andrea Pietrobon
Team Polti Kometa
117 pt
7 Filippo Fiorelli
VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè
116 pt
8 Davide Ballerini
Astana Qazaqstan Team
84 pt
9 Jhonatan Narváez Prado
INEOS Grenadiers
80 pt
10 Stanisław Aniołkowski
Cofidis
78 pt
65 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
13 pt
72 Jan Hirt
Soudal Quick-Step
9 pt
81 Pieter Serry
Soudal Quick-Step
6 pt
103 Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step
2 pt
991 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
-34 pt
1 Tadej Pogačar
UAE Team Emirates
270 pt
2 Giulio Pellizzari
VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè
206 pt
3 Georg Steinhauser
EF Education - EasyPost
153 pt
4 Nairo Quintana Rojas
Movistar Team
114 pt
5 Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step
101 pt
6 Daniel Felipe Martínez Poveda
BORA - hansgrohe
81 pt
7 Simon Geschke
Cofidis
78 pt
8 Valentin Paret-Peintre
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
59 pt
9 Romain Bardet
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
47 pt
10 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Egerzeigzaarhka
Lidl - Trek
42 pt
63 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
1 pt
991 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
-2 pt
1 Antonio Tiberi
Bahrain - Victorious
79:26:52
2 Thymen Arensman
INEOS Grenadiers
1:42
3 Filippo Zana
Team Jayco AlUla
11:10
4 Davide Piganzoli
Team Polti Kometa
19:34
5 Valentin Paret-Peintre
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
30:37
6 Alex Baudin
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
47:58
7 Giovanni Aleotti
BORA - hansgrohe
1:00:14
8 Edoardo Zambanini
Bahrain - Victorious
1:13:07
9 Kevin Vermaerke
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
1:20:52
10 Mauri Vansevenant
Soudal Quick-Step
1:34:54
40 Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step
5:02:17
1 Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team 238:30:07
2 INEOS Grenadiers 44:23
3 UAE Team Emirates 1:01:50
4 Bahrain - Victorious 1:20:25
5 Movistar Team 1:51:00
6 Astana Qazaqstan Team 1:58:31
7 VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè 2:16:59
8 Team dsm-firmenich PostNL 2:18:50
9 BORA - hansgrohe 2:45:37
10 Soudal Quick-Step 2:59:42

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