"????‍♂️ Unbelievable! Pogacar Secures Giro d'Italia Victory on Debut!"

Pogacar Secures Giro d'Italia Victory on Debut

Pogacar celebrates his Giro d'Italia victory alongside team-mates from UAE Team Emirates.

Tadej Pogacar won the Giro d'Italia on his first attempt, completing the final stage in Rome on Sunday.

The Slovenian rider, who has two Tour de France titles, won six of the 21 stages with a dominant performance.

He finished nine minutes and 56 seconds ahead of second-placed Daniel Martinez from Colombia. Britain's Geraint Thomas was 10 minutes and 24 seconds behind in third place.

Pogacar had worn the leader's pink jersey since his win on stage two and secured the largest overall margin of victory since 1965.

"I am speechless. It's hard to describe this moment, it's amazing," said the 25-year-old.

"There are many nice memories. In time, I'll figure out which was the best moment, but overall it was a really beautiful Giro."

The final 125km stage in Rome ended with a hectic finish. Tim Merlier won in a sprint, beating Jonathan Milan, who had a puncture with nine kilometers to go, to claim his third stage win of the race.

Pogacar will now try to become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win both the Giro and the Tour de France, which starts on 29 June, in the same season.

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard has won the last two Tour de France editions, but his fitness level is uncertain after a crash in the Itzulia Basque Country race in April.

Thomas Looking Forward to Tour de France

Thomas became only the second rider in Giro history aged 38 or older to finish on the podium.

The former Tour de France winner has said this year’s Giro d’Italia might be his last Grand Tour as a team leader at Ineos Grenadiers.

"I've really enjoyed it. It's been a good group of guys," the Welshman, who will retire at the end of next season, told Eurosport.

"It's gone really fast, but it seems like a lifetime ago that we started in Torino. It's been great.

"I'm looking forward to that [Tour de France]. It's a big challenge. I'll freshen up, stay off the beer, go to an altitude camp, and then go to the Tour to help the boys. We've got a great young team."