The Giro favorite had a puncture in Sunday’s 161-kilometer mountain stage, approximately 11 kilometers from the summit finish at Santuario di Oropa, after finishing third in Saturday’s opening stage.
The two-time Tour de France winner was helped onto a new bike right away after crashing into the tarmac in front of his team car. He was unharmed.
After that, the 25-year-old Slovenian rode to victory, 27 seconds ahead of Daniel Martinez and Geraint Thomas of Great Britain, stealing the lead from Jhonatan Narvaez in the overall standings.
“I was pretty relaxed,” Pogacar remarked. “I crashed after being a little disoriented, but it wasn’t anything major.
