It’s the 27th of May 2023. The Giro d’Italia has unfolded as a very tight duel between Geraint Thomas, who has worn the Maglia Rosa up to this penultimate stage, and Primoz Roglic. The Jumbo‑Visma star rides today in the region of Friuli, a stone’s throw from the Slovenian border, which draws countless fans from his country to the grueling and decisive time‑trial climb up Monte Lussari (almost 8 km at an 11 % gradient).
The TT, really intricate and with little access to the summit other than the climb itself, forces the organizers to split the riders into several groups to facilitate the flow of cyclists and teams. The overall contenders are obviousuly in the last group. Being a mixed TT, most riders choose to start on a time‑trial bike for the flat first part, then switch to a road bike for the second part.
Roglic posts faster early intermediate splits than Thomas. The 26‑second gap between the Welshman and the Slovenian in the general classification promises a fireworks finish. And suddenly, everything falls apart. On one of the steepest ramps of the climb, Primoz Roglic’s chain drops to the ground. He is forced to stop, with the added difficulty of the cranks on a dirt ramp and the steep gradient, to get the chain back on and resume his effort.
Fate will have the person who helps him be none other than an old training partner… from his ski‑jumping days! Mitja Meznar, a friend and support for Primoz in those years, runs down from where he was to help him get the chain back on, and, accompanied by a Jumbo‑Visma mechanic who – like the other teams – was assisting the effort from a motorcycle for logistical reasons, they push him toward what will become an astonishing victory.
In the end, Roglic – and, to a certain extent, Meznar, who together with Primoz had won gold medals for Slovenia in the discipline and had been with him when he won the Junior World Championships nearby in Tarvisio – crossed the line 40 seconds ahead and turned the race on its head, to the misfortune of Thomas, who retired in 2025 never having tasted the final glory of the Maglia Rosa.
