I would say there’s obviously a reason to it other than Pogacar has become a much worse climber suddenly, as that doesn’t make any sense.
This is Amstel Gold Race and the Dauphine TT from last year all over again, and we saw how that turned out.
Ah yes, Pogacar, who was in career-best shape this spring, has clearly lost the ability to climb. That is of course the most reasonable and obvious observation from this stage.
I think I might have edited my comment after your reply - Rodriguez was bib 1 last year here and wasn’t made to go last.
I guess it’s possible they asked Pogacar to go last specifically but it would be a bit weird.
I don’t think it’s a hard rule for a first-stage TT/Prologue. MVDP had bib 1 in Tirreno and he didn’t start last.
Edit: Rodriguez was bib 1 last year at Romandie and didn’t go last either.
Lidl-Trek making Holmgren work for Fisher-Black just for Fisher-Black to drop lol
And now Holmgren is missing the extra little kick and gets dropped from the podium fight. Genius tactics