The Giro, which starts on Saturday from Fossacesia Marina, will offer a high plateau, but above all a superb route which will put the bodies to the test, for the first big round of the year.
The Giro 2023, which starts on Saturday May 6, in order to reach Rome on May 28, launches the annual trilogy of grand tours. If they are many to advance full of ambition in Italy, it is the duel between Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel which crystallizes the attention. However, even if the outgoing winner, Jai Hindley, is absent, some members of the peloton are dreaming big and can believe in their chances. With a tricky, exhausting and very demanding course, everything seems possible. In the radius of the French, the last appearance of Thibaut Pinot on the Giro will be one of the attractions of the race. Franceinfo: sport presents what you need to know before the start of the Tour of Italy.
Who can beat Roglic and Evenepoel?
Unanimously designated as the favorites for this new edition of the Giro, Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel seem to have the cards in hand to fight for the final victory. The Slovenian and the Belgian outrageously dominate the races in which they have lined up since the start of the season, but certain elements of the peloton will be keen to play the spoilsports. If Tadej Pogacar will not be aligned in Italy, the UAE Team Emirates formation will count on Joao Almeida as leader. The latter will be able to rely on Davide Formolo, Brandon McNulty and Jay Vine when the road rises. Now accustomed to the big tours, the Portuguese could definitely pass a course in Italy.
The Ineos Grenadiers formation is also advancing with ambition on this Giro. With Tao Geoghegan Hart, winner of the event in 2020, and Geraint Thomas, the British team has two weight leaders. Above all, they will be accompanied by seasoned runners capable of helping them in the mountains with Pavel Sivakov and Thymen Arensman. What lock some climbs and hurt the rest of the peloton. Finally, the Bora-Hansgrohe, although Jai Hindley’s orphan, will count on Aleksandr Vlasov to shine. If he solves his failure problems, and with riders such as Patrick Konrad, Lennard Kämna or Bob Jungels by his side, the Russian can believe in his chances of final victory, he who has already finished fourth in the Giro in 2021.
The route is attractive
If Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel are huge favorites to put on the pink tunic on the evening of the 21st stage, it is also because the route seems cut out for them. With 73.2 kilometers of solo effort (highest total since 2015), spread over three stages, the Giro will give pride of place to riders. With one exception, the last of the three times, which will be in the mountains. The day before the finish in Rome, the favorites will be able to decide on an 18.6 kilometer time trial, including 7.5 kilometers of final ascent, with passages at 22%. If the Giro is not yet won at that time, he will certainly be lost in it. Previously, the peloton will have crossed Italy, from South to North, while following a route punctuated with difficulties.
After a relatively simple start to the Tour, despite a potentially dangerous fourth stage, the peloton will come up against the Gran Sasso d’Italia (first category pass) during the seventh stage. Before the big explanations of the last week, the sprinters and the fighters will have a few opportunities to show themselves on stages that the leaders should not covet. However, from the 13th stage, the “days without” will be expensive in the general classification.
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If the 17th and 21st stages are reserved for sprinters, six of the last eight days of racing will see the peloton climb, at least, a first category pass. Enough to use the organisms, to end in style, with a terrible 19th stage, with three passes above 2000 meters and 5400 meters of elevation, before the last time trial. On the menu for this last hearty week, passes like the Passo Giau, the Passo della Crocetta or the Monte Bondone.
The French want to shine
For his last participation in a Tour of Italy that he has always publicly cherished, Thibaut Pinot will be one of the main French attractions for the next three weeks. Recent fifth in the Tour de Romandie, the Franc-Comtois will seek to shine on the Italian slopes “without taking the lead”. How, that is the question. In a press conference, the interested party to start spilling the beans: “I can fight for the general classification, trying one day to go for a stage victory, one does not prevent the other”. A Pinot a priori ready to play on all fronts, even if it expects to lose time during the first days of racing. “I know that I will be quite far in the general classification after the first half of the event, but I really intend to improve in the last week.
If he should not have the free field to try to take the right breakaways, Pavel Sivakov remains a solid element at Ineos Grenadiers. Depending on how the race unfolds, he could benefit from certain openings. It’s now been six years since Warren Barguil lifted his arms on a grand tour. But the former French champion, leader of Arkéa-Samsic, will certainly be keen to win a stage for his first participation in the Giro, he who has already won in France and Spain. Finally, on the side of the AG2R Citroën Team, hopes will rest on Aurélien Paret-Peintre. The 27-year-old climber will aim for a top 15 overall, a performance he had achieved on the Tour de France in 2021.
