Landa eight seconds away from Giro d'Italia podium spot
After three weeks and 3537.6km of racing, Mikel Landa (Movistar) lost out on a Giro d'Italia podium position when Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) put enough time into him in the final time trial to stand third behind winner Richard Carapaz (Movistar) and second-placed Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).
It was yet another disappointment for the Spaniard in 2017 missed the Tour de France podium by a single second.
Landa started the final 17km time trial around Verona with a slim 23-second lead on Roglic but the gap proved to be too small. Landa was still one hundred metres from the finish when he ran out of time and lost third place overall by eight seconds.
Roglic, the winner of the stage 9 time trial in San Marino, finished a distant 10th in Verona after a long and bruising fight for overall victory. Performing below his usual high time trial standards, Roglic came in 25 seconds slower than stage winner Chad Haga (Team Sunweb) and even three seconds slower than Nibali. However, Landa was even slower, 31 seconds behind Roglic.
Landa's sad eyes revealed his inner disappointment.
The friendly Basque is considered as a major Grand Tour talent but is often the bridesmaid at the foot of the podium, looking up to weaker rivals who, for one reason or another, manage to finish ahead of him when it really matters.
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