If there were any lingering doubts about Tadej Pogachar's condition after his close loss on Saturday's opening stage of the Giro d'Italia, they were completely erased by the Slovenian's victory and first career leader's jersey in Sunday's 4+km race in Oropa.

His finish 27 seconds ahead of his UAE Team Emirates rival may not have been the most shocking of his mountain performances in recent years, but it was enough to put him 45 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), who was second in last year's Giro

By now, he was in a position to win the Giro.

To date, Pogachar has 71 victories, and this is his 15th Grand Tour stage win in Oropa. One journalist gave the impression that Pogachar did not seem as satisfied with his victory in Italy as he was with his win in Strade Bianche earlier this season, and asked the Slovenian if that was correct.

Pogachar, however, dismissed the notion, joking that maybe he wasn't too happy because he was asking too many questions.

"Strade Bianke is a one-day race, and it's his first win of the season, but here it's the second stage of a three-week race.

"I'm still thinking about the next 19 stages, so it's not over yet and the big goal is to win the Giro. Winning the Giro is my big goal. We still have another bike race tomorrow and it's time to get serious."

Pogachar, who had a flat tire on Biella, appeared to be in serious trouble at one point at the base of Oropa, but Italian television showed the Slovenian's troubles and Marco Pantani's memorable mechanical trouble at the base of the same pass, followed by an amazing comeback and winning run at the foot of the same pass were compared again and again.

However, despite Italian television's repeated replay of footage of Pantani's mechanics, the similarities between the two were clearly limited: instead of Pantani's frantic counter-charge to glory as in 1999, in the 2024 race Pogachar was able to rejoin the pack without much difficulty and attack whenever he wanted.

"I didn't panic, I punctured my front wheel in a hole in the cobbles.

"There was a corner coming up and I thought about stopping in front of it, but the car told me to stop and then stop. But I made the mistake of putting zero pressure on the front wheel and just running on carbon, so when I entered the corner I didn't stop in front of it. [I had a little more adrenaline, but I was confident. I came back with my team and they did a great job.

Even if Pogachar dodged that particular bullet, there is no escaping the fact that Oropa has a rich history in cycling, and one of its strongest links to the past is a rider named Marco Pantani.

"Winning here means as much as any other stage win to take the leader's jersey," Pogachar said.

"The atmosphere was incredible on the climbs, I really enjoyed riding the last few kilometers solo, and the support from the fans was amazing.

Asked if he wasn't running at full power, Pogachar denied it.

"I can confirm that I was running at maximum power. I was riding at my own pace, but when Rafal [teammate Mayka] attacked, I was at my limit. But I was able to exploit his gap and make a gap, and after that I tried to go for the lead at a normal pace. I worked pretty hard today. 0]

Pogachar's attack in Oropa was widely expected, so anything else would have been a big surprise.

"Yesterday I already had a plan for a stage win, but in the end I came up a little short," he said of his loss to Honatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadier) and Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) in the first stage.

"But today was a more suitable course for us. I'm very happy to win a stage and the pink jersey."

Pogachar, who returned to the top of the Grand Tour for the first time since losing the maillot jaune to Jonas Vingegaard (Vimaris A-Bike) on stage 11 of the 2022 Tour de France in March He cited the time trial on stage 7 as his next opportunity to extend his advantage, rather than the race on the gravel roads of Tuscany that he won in Strade Bianche. But he also warned that he is not alone in seeing the time trial as an opportunity to distance himself from his rivals.

"I think Stellato will be a stage where you don't lose time rather than gain time.

"It will be interesting because one of the GC guys, Geraint Thomas, is a TT specialist. He usually doesn't compete in that many races, just Grand Tours and a few smaller events. Here it's a new competition where I'm competing against new riders and I don't know exactly who fits where.

"But I'm going to focus on my performance and give it my all in the TT. It's a really good TT and I've already done some scouting and I can't wait."

The race against the clock for the 40.6km between Foligno and Perugia on May 10 is still five days away. Rather than focus too strongly now on what is about to happen, the big takeaway from Oropa is that Pogachar is already at the helm of the 2024 Giro d'Italia.

As Pogachar said, the race may not be over yet. But after only 48 hours, the Giro already feels like Pogachal's to lose.

Unlimited access to all coverage of the Giro d'Italia - journalist reports, breaking news, on-site analysis of each stage of the race, and more. More info.