Nothing is ever certain until the last rider crosses the line, and with the final day of the 2021 Giro d’Italia traditionally ending in an individual time trial, there was still the potential for upsets. Stage 21 took place on the streets of Milan, the 30.3km parcours twisting and turning on city roads, and while the profile was flat, there were enough hazards to catch out the unwary riders and put a cruel end to their race. For BORA-hansgrohe, it was a bittersweet ending to a race that saw Peter Sagan take a sprint victory on stage 10 putting him into the Maglia Ciclimino of points leader, before the team’s GC leader, Emanuel Buchmann, was forced to abandon the race following a crash in the opening kilometres of stage 15 after riding so consistently and making his way to sixth in the overall standings. The team turned in exceptional performances every day, from Matteo Fabbro, Felix Grossschartner and Giovanni Aleotti getting in the break on multiple stages, to Daniel Oss and Maciej Bodnar controlling the peloton on the sprint stages and protecting Peter Sagan. Racing until the end, the team gave it their all in Milan, with Maciej Bodnar setting the time to beat early on, the Polish time trial specialist coming home in 34:42 and sitting at the top of the provisional classifications for a time, finally finishing in eleventh, and Felix Grossschartner also setting a fast time, crossing the line in 35:11. All eyes then turned to Peter Sagan, the Slovak rider only having to finish the stage to confirm the first ciclamino jersey of his career and, after setting a time of 36:47, it was finally time to celebrate an excellent performance from both Peter and his BORA-hansgrohe teammates. From the Finish Line
“I’m very happy and proud to step on the final podium in Milan, wearing the ciclamino jersey of the Giro d’Italia. It has been a dream of mine for many years and I am delighted to see it come true today. I’d like to thank the race organisers, the incredible Italian public that was back on the roads cheering for us and all my teammates for their work in these three tough weeks of racing.” – Peter Sagan
“It was a very fast time trial. In the final 10 kilometres that were completely straight, there was a bit of headwind which it made it hard. I gave it my all, aiming at a top-ten time. We had two main goals when we started in Turin three weeks ago. We achieved one, the ciclamino jersey with Peter, after putting in a strong effort, so I think we can be happy about that. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to reach the other one, a good GC position with Emu, because of the crash but these are things you can’t control. Overall, I am satisfied.” – Maciej Bodnar
“In general, it was a successful Giro for us. From Peter’s point of view with the stage win and the sprint jersey. But in the overall classification, it was of course a bitter situation to lose Emanuel Buchmann after the first half of the race. Unfortunately, we could not compensate for that. That left Peter’s successes, which we then brought safely to Milan, plus some nice stage placings. Apart from that, we were at the award ceremony almost every day with Peter in the jersey, and our riders always put in a good performance on the stages. All in all, it was a successful Giro and the team made the best out of the situation. Peter’s stage win should also be highlighted, which was definitely a team effort.” – Jens Zemke, Sports Director
