He finished the last stage in Rome safely in front of the Coliseum in time for the main stage after three weeks of overcoming numerous crashes alongside his rivals, a broken chain on the Vistula mountains and a hellish climb to eternal glory there.

Višarje - cycling's holy place

For centuries, St. Višarje has been a pilgrimage shrine for the nations. On Saturday, 27 May, it became a cycling holy place for Slovenians. The atmosphere was euphoric, united, mountain-like and unique. On Saturday, almost only Slovenian flags flew at Sveti Višary and Roglič fought his way to victory in stage 20 and also in the overall standings, his 73rd and 74th of his career. Riding on the wings of his fans and adrenaline, he outsprinted his Welsh rival by 40 seconds. Enough to make him the winner of the Giro by 14 seconds.

Slovenia's first Giro victory

For the first Slovenian victory at the Giro, all he had to do was cross the finish line safely in Rome. He held on to his 14-second lead over his rivals after his brilliant performance the day before to win the Giro in St. Višarje and put on the pink jersey of the leader.

"It was definitely a decisive stage, I had my legs on the right day, not to mention everyone's support. I really enjoyed every metre I rode. I basically went on people's energy. I don't even know how hard it was, I was just flying," said Roglič, dressed in pink.

With his fourth victory in the three-week race, having previously won the Vuelta three times in a row between 2019 and 2021, the 33-year-old ace caught Switzerland's Tony Rominger, Spain's Roberto Heras and Italy's Vincenzo Nibali in 11th place on the perpetual leaderboard. Slovenia is now eighth in the national standings with six wins, after Tadej Pogačar has two more Tour victories (2020, 2021).

Find out more on slovenia.si