Pogacar leads Giro by nearly 7 minutes after stunning win in Queen stage

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — What Tadej Pogacar wants, he normally gets.

The Slovenian star said he wanted to win the Queen stage of the Giro d’Italia and he did just that on Sunday — destroying his rivals on the toughest leg of this year’s race to add three minutes to his already considerable advantage.

There is just one week remaining of the Italian grand tour.

Despite having ridden for more than six hours through the high mountains on Sunday, Pogacar was full of smiles as he was cheered on by the crowds lining the difficult summit finish at Livigno.

As the sunshine glinted off the snow on the sides of the route, Pogacar crossed the finish line with his arms outstretched over his head.

“Today was one of the best days, I would not say that it was the best day of my career but it was a really nice stage, really good route, nice climbs,” Pogacar said. “The team did a super good job.