And here we are finally talking about Giro d'Italia. As if we were at a bar, among friends. Over a beer or with a deck of cards in hand, we're reeling off names, champions, bets, surprises... That's the beauty of sports and major events, which can capture your attention.
The hunt for the pink jersey will begin on Friday. It's true that the "three tenors" won't be there (Roglic, Bernal e pogacar), but at a certain point you know what to say: too bad for them! The absent are always wrongMaybe they'll come next year. In the meantime, let's enjoy ourselves and cheer on those who are there.
Which in the end are not few…
Yates and Carapaz in pole
Let's start with the names fighting for the general classification. Simon yates He already seems to have it under control, but as they say: in a conclave, whoever enters as Pope, leaves as a cardinal. To say that nothing is a given. And this also applies to Richard Carapaz. They are the two favorites of the Five Star Movement.
carapaz Perhaps even more so. He's already won a Giro, stood on the podium at the Tour and the Vuelta, is a fighter, and is stronger over the distance than Yates. However, it must be said that so far, partly due to physical problems, he has been seen very little, while Yates has won. And even in important races. If Roglic hadn't had a super Van Aert at his side, he would have taken home Paris-Nice.
Landa, Lopez and Almeida
And then there are Mikel Landa e Miguel Angel Lopez. We place the two "Michelis" a step below Yates and Carapaz. We don't doubt their climbing ability, but rather their consistency. One bad day, one outburst, one crash: They are excellent riders, but historically they have always lacked something. Maybe this will be the right time to change the course of history and their ruthless statistics.
For all of them, even the first two names, the same thing applies: there's practically no time trial. They're four climbers, but precisely for this reason... The 26 kilometers against the clock could prove decisive. Who will go slower? And that's not a joke, think about it.
And always for this reason, among the favourites the one who is most skilled at time trials is Joao Almeida. Mauro Gianetti, team manager of the UAE EmiratesHe had told us explicitly in good time: "We've hired him for the Giro. And he has to think about that. He shouldn't hold back because then maybe he could come to the Tour to support Pogacar. No, the Giro first." His approach was silent...
The outsiders
Quite a few names appear on this list. Romain Bardet he seems to be the fittest, given the Tour of the Alps who played, but for him the same thing applies as for Landa and Lopez. However, his grin from a few days ago, it should be taken into consideration. He worked hard and well.
The battleship Bora Hansgrohe with Hindley, Kelderman e bookman, could win the team classification with a certain ease, but no offense: we don't see any podium leaders.
And then there's the duo of Jumbo Visma: Tom Dumoulin e Tobias Foss. In other times, the pink jersey would already have a name and surname. Tom is a true champion. If he had had a good domestique, just one, he would have won at least another Giro, a Vuelta and even a Tour. But there are a thousand questions about him. The first of which is: does he want to finish in the general classification? Or is he aiming for time trials and stages?
His young Norwegian dolphin, on the other hand, wouldn't surprise us if he went on to make great strides.
Foreign outsiders for the ranking: Alejandro Valverde.
Italian optimism…
After the absolute nothingness of the Classics, we can't help but be optimistic: it couldn't get any worse! Let's laugh about it... For us Italians, the Giro is the Giro. Our people will also bring out what they don't have.
The first can only be His Majesty, Vincenzo Nibali. The Shark has said several times over the winter that he doesn't set goals. He wants to do well. Whether that means finishing in the top five, getting on the podium, or winning a stage is anyone's guess. But that's also right. He himself doesn't really know his worth, with a changing generation and a winter that certainly wasn't one to be framed in terms of preparation, repeatedly affected by health problems.
Then there is Giulio Ciccone. Well, we admit we're curious about the Abruzzese. This time, he seems to have trained well. He's got a lot of work under his belt. This is a good time to see if he can really compete in the Grand Tours. A top ten finish seems a given. A podium finish, much less so. But we're keeping our fingers crossed.
And of Dominic Pozzo alive Shall we talk about it? We bet he'll be there fighting for a top five finish? He's got plenty of tenacity, experience (he's on the 16th Giro), and enthusiasm. He knows the climbs like the back of his hand; one stage passes through his hometown. He spent half the winter at high altitude. And when necessary he has an excellent team, led by a great coach, Beer, and it too is full of enthusiasm.
And the sprinters?
Among the sprinters the duel of the Tour de France from Caleb ewan e Mark Cavendish. Both have already won the Giro. The Aussie did it last year too, Cav hasn't done it for nine years. They're the big names. But...
But it's there Filippo Fiorelli, more aggressive than ever, who said not too subtly that he might even break away. There is the duo of Cofidis: Simone Consonni e Davide Cimolai (it remains to be seen who will lead the sprint to whom) and there is the cannibal of the sprints of the last few Tours: Arnaud Demare. La Groupama-Fdj She showed up expressly declaring that she was aiming for the stages. They don't even have a classification man (Valter He'll be quite isolated.) He perhaps has the only truly super train. The only doubt about Demare is that he hasn't managed to win yet this year.
He has a great train and a great leg too James Nizzolo, who last year in Verona, at the last good opportunity for fast wheels, managed to break the ice with the Giro.
There is no shortage of names for the sprints and for this reason keep an eye on Phil Bauhaus, of Bahrain Victorious, king of the final stage at Tirreno.
All following VdP
Let's move on to the stage hunters. Well, here's one of the tenors: Mathieu Van der Poel. The first thing we need to see is whether he'll do it all. It wouldn't be bad. He could even aim for the points classification, given how fast he is. He'll be very strong in the rolling stages. The first stage with the arrival on the Visegrad hill seems tailor-made for him.
And it will be very marked, as always, Thomas De Gent. Another rider who arouses curiosity is Biniam Girmay, winner of the last Ghent. Watch out then Magnus Cort, of EF Easy Post, last year's Vuelta was a star performer with attacks from afar and in the final stages. Bardet's dolphin move will also have to be taken into consideration. Arensmann (and perhaps not just for the stages).
The names of the following also end up in the notebook of those under special observation: Stove, Vendrame, De Marchi, Moniquet, Dancers, Soda, Albanian, Tesfatsion...
Other outsiders for the stages: Alejandro Valverde.
Happy Giro everyone!
