Stage 21
Colombia's first Giro
- Sunday 1 June 2014
- 173 km
- 1,090 m climbed
- Won by Luka Mezgec
The road
At the start
Nine laps of Trieste
The last day: 173 kilometres to Trieste and then nine laps of a seven-kilometre city circuit, with the mountains behind and nothing left to decide. Nairo Quintana leads Rigoberto Urán by 3:07 and Fabio Aru by 4:04, and needs only to arrive upright to become the first Colombian ever to win the Giro d'Italia. Forty-two riders have gone home since Belfast. The sprinters get the last word.
How it was won
- 37 km to go
Tuft and Bak try the circuit
Nine laps of a seven-kilometre circuit in Trieste, and the man who wore the first maglia rosa is first to attack. Svein Tuft and Lars Bak get 45 seconds with 37km left, and never a chance of keeping it.
- At the line
Colombia's first Giro
Boxed in at 500 metres, Luka Mezgec spots daylight along the right-hand barriers and surges through it to beat Nizzolo and Farrar a few kilometres from his Slovenian home. Somewhere in the bunch behind, Nairo Quintana sits up and lets himself feel it: the first Colombian ever to win the Giro d'Italia.
The result
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luka Mezgec | Team Giant - Shimano | 4:23:58 |
| 2 | Giacomo Nizzolo | Trek Factory Racing | +0:00 |
| 3 | Tyler Farrar | Garmin Sharp | +0:00 |
The route on real terrain, every moment pinned to the kilometre it happened on — and the GPX to ride it yourself.