The Giro d'Italia has officially begun, and the first Albanian stages have handed out the various jerseys to their respective, albeit temporary, leaders. The Corsa Rosa, with its twenty-one stages, is long, and anything can change every day. We must expect changes of ownership and possible reversalsWe've talked a lot about the fight for the symbol of supremacy, the pink jersey. But among the various rankings there is one that offers a glimpse into the future and present of this race: that of the best young rider.The symbol of the primacy is the classic white jersey, this year sponsored by Conad. The youth classification is open to all riders under 25, therefore born from 2000 onwards..
Forty-six athletes fit this criteria, but not all of them, given their technical characteristics and team roles, will be chasing the title.
Two-horse race?
To try to understand who among the youngsters can fight for this special jersey, worn in the past by riders such as Aru, Quintana, Richie Porte and BernalWe asked Marino Amadori for help. The U23 national team coach has seen all the contenders for the 2025 white jersey in action and has a clear idea of the favorites.
«In the meantime, I would like to note the name of the person who wore it in Rome last year. – says Amadori – namely Antonio Tiberi. He was the first Italian, nine years after Fabio Aru, to once again top this special ranking. Otherwise, there's plenty of quality, even among the foreign riders. One above all I would say is Juan Ayuso, the Spaniard came here to win the Giro So he's rightfully among the contenders for the white jersey. Indeed, by necessity, the young riders' rankings go hand in hand with the general rankings."
Young riders people and leaders
The Italian national team's reasoning is flawless. The white jersey was introduced into the Grand Tours to give prominence and a distinctive mark to young riders capable of competing alongside the greats. In recent seasons, however, it has happened that young people arrive in the professional world ready to do wellWe saw it at the Tour de France with Tadej Pogacar, capable of winning the white jersey for four years in a row, combining it with victory in the general classification on two occasions. Along with the Slovenian, Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso himself also contributed to rewriting this ruleThe Belgian and the Spaniard won the young rider classification at the Vuelta Espana in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
"It's clear that the fight for the white jersey," explains coach Amadori, "is reserved for those riders whose teams leave the field open. In this Giro d'Italia, there are few declared leaders under the age of twenty-five. besides Tiberi and Ayuso, Piganzoli comes to mindThese are the three I'd put on a potential young riders' podium, exactly in the order listed. Ayuso is even a favorite for the final pink jersey; he has a strong team that knows how to race over the three weeks. Even in his time with the under 23s, albeit brief, he had shown incredible qualityTiberi did the same when he was at Colpack. During the race, there was a clear gap between him and the others. Both are strong in every aspect, Ayuso also has great explosiveness on his sideTiberi, on the other hand, is a regular rider. If I had to make a comparison, I'd compare him to Indurain.
Many talents
The winner of the white jersey will probably emerge from a two-man duel between Ayuso and Tiberi but the interesting young riders at the start of this Giro are different and capable of doing well, even just for a stage or to show their qualities alongside the captains.
«Then if we broaden the discussion to include young people capable of competing and performing well throughout the entire Giro d'Italia – concludes Amadori – many come to mind. One above all is Pellizzari, a predestined one in stage racesThe mere fact that he secured a spot in the Giro, which wasn't initially planned, does him credit. He may be at Roglic's service, true, but his strength is unquestionable. Among other interesting young people I would include Garofoli and Marcellusi. The UAE has strong elements such as Del Toro and Baroncini, but they will all run in support of Ayuso, it will be difficult for them to find space to emerge".
