Cyclingflash
Jonas Vingegaard breaks iconic Piancavallo record of Marco Pantani

Jonas Vingegaard breaks iconic Piancavallo record of Marco Pantani

The iconic record of Marco Pantani on Piancavallo has been broken after 28 years. The Italian clocked a time of 36 minutes and 20 seconds in 1998 on the 14.5-kilometer climb, which laid the foundation for his Giro victory that year. Today, Jonas Vingegaard went under the late Italian’s time by three seconds.

The Piancavallo record was long considered nearly impossible to break. Since Pantani’s victory 28 years ago, the Giro has returned to the climb five more times, but no rider managed to come anywhere near Pantani’s time.

For example, Thibaut Pinot recorded a time of 38 minutes and 56 seconds in 2017, while Jai Hindley, Tao Geoghegan Hart, and Wilco Kelderman took 37 minutes and 51 seconds in 2020, more than a minute and a half slower than Pantani and Vingegaard.

Vingegaard was able to break Pantani’s time in the Giro by attacking early. The Danish rider launched his attack 11 kilometers from the finish ahead of his rivals, then crossed the line with a big lead. With four kilometers of Piancavallo remaining, Vingegaard was still four seconds behind Pantani. He managed to overturn that deficit in the final kilometers.