After Roglic's withdrawal, Denz immediately made his move: "There was only one stage that gave me a chance"

You could easily call Denz and the Giro a happy marriage. In the 2023 edition, he claimed two stage wins, the biggest victories of his career. Now, on Thursday, he added a third by simply powering away so forcefully that the other breakaway riders couldn't follow.

The win brought out a wave of emotion for Denz, especially since the Giro had gone far from smoothly for his team up to that point. “This is probably my most emotional victory,” he said in the flash interview. He was referring to the withdrawal of several teammates, including team leader Primoz Roglic. “We lost Jai (Hindley, ed.) early in this Giro. And we had invested a lot in Primoz.”

“Not just the riders, but the entire staff had one big goal: to win the Giro with Roglic,” said Denz, giving a glimpse into the sometimes lonely life of a pro cyclist. “We spent two months at altitude. We’ve now been away from home for three months. I haven’t seen my wife and kids in all that time. And then you don’t just lose Primoz, you lose the dream. It feels like all that hard work was for nothing.”

But Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe didn’t let their heads drop. “Luckily, we were able to turn things around and find motivation again,” said Denz, who also had high praise for his young teammate Giulio Pellizzari, currently seventh in the general classification. “Giulio is doing an amazing job this Giro.” May 29th also happens to be Father’s Day in Germany, a detail Denz hadn’t forgotten. “Greetings from Dad,” he waved to his kids. “This one is really special.”

Denz being in the breakaway was no coincidence. “When Primoz left the Giro, I pulled out the Garibaldi (the race roadbook, ed.). Between the Mortirolo and the Finestre, there was only one stage that gave me a chance. I had a plan, and the team gave me the freedom to go for it today. I followed my instincts. In the final, the group wasn’t working well together. When I saw a little gap, I thought, why not? I went all in on that one card.”