Giro d’Italia, challenge between Roglic and Evenepoel but Ganna wants to take the first squad

On paper, the Belgian is the favourite. Even the young age is from him. He lacks a pinch of experience, the one that Primoz Roglic has in abundance, also very gifted in time trials, already winner of three Vueltas, second in the 2020 Tour and third in the 2019 Giro.

Covid has struck again

It will be an exciting duel. The Slovenian certainly knows the roads of the Giro better but he is no longer a kid. Thirty-three years can be felt for both good and bad. Another limitation of Roglic could be the team, Jumbo-Visma, hit hard by Covid: after Robert Gesink and Tobias Foss, Jos Van Emden will also not be at the start, he too infected by the virus which, we recall, forced him to forfeit also our Giulio Ciccone. “Yes, the team’s situation is a big mess,” commented Roglic, with his usual low profile, so different from the solid certainties of his rival. “I have faith in my comrades present. However, my way of being in the race makes me quite independent from the help of the team. I’m fine, the years don’t weigh me down. They are like good wine, I get better as I get older», concluded the Slovenian.

Soudal-Quick Step, Evenepoel’s team, presents itself instead as one of the most aggressive, having selected expert riders among climbers and long-distance runners, but without sprinters to better concentrate on the captain. The Belgian team will therefore field neither the Dutch Fabio Jakobsen nor the Belgian Tim Merlier, who also would have been among the best sprinters in the peloton.

Ganna in the middle of the ford

The other squadron, Ganna’s Ineos, for the pink jersey is instead betting on Tao Geoghegan Hart (who has already won a Giro) and Geraint Thomas, the British pistard in the yellow jersey at the 2018 Tour and with 36 springs behind him. In Ineos, therefore, Ganna has a fairly limited role as stage hunter as well as time trial specialist. You will see along the way. On paper everything is easy then the reality is another. And it depends on a bunch of variables, like weather, health, crises, team help. The last week, with these mountains, is always an unknown factor, especially for riders like Evenepoel and Roglic, whose weak point could be their resistance to prolonged fatigue.

Among the other favourites, the Lusitanian Joao Almeida deserves a mention, always close to the podium in the last few editions. Italians? We root for Ganna, hoping that every now and then he emancipates himself from the role of generous follower. Vincenzo Nibali is now just a beautiful memory, he will be the ambassador of the Giro, reminding us how good he was at acting as a lightning rod for a movement – Italian cycling – that is increasingly swooping in terms of results and the promotion of new talent. Absent the eternal promise Giulio Ciccone, we can only hope for Damiano Caruso, second in the 2021 edition. Our movement, never in such a crisis, urgently needs miracles. With all due respect, we are still represented by Domenico Pozzovivo, dean of the Giro with 40 years and 159 days. The Lucanian is at his 17th participation. If he reaches 18, he will also pass Miro Panizza. But here, rather than in the amarcord, we are in science fiction.