The big Giro duel: Evenepoel against Roglic

For the 33-year-old Roglic, after three unsuccessful Tour de France attempts, but also three Vuelta triumphs since 2019, all that counts is the pink jersey. “The Giro has a special place in my heart. This is where I won my first Grand Tour stage and it's so close to Slovenia, it's almost our home race. When I started dreaming of a life as a professional cyclist, it was the Giro that I had in mind,” said the former ski jumper to the industry portal Cyclingnews.

The time trial Olympic champion has a very strong jumbo team with noble helper Sepp Kuss around him for the almost 3.500 kilometers of racing including 51.000 meters of altitude, which was changed at short notice due to Corona cases. But the third-place finisher in the Giro in 2019 knows about the abilities of his rivals. “I have always said that Remco is a great driver. I have to be at my best to compete against him. But if it’s just the two of us racing against each other, someone else could take advantage of the opportunity and benefit.”

High-class field of participants One person who has exactly that in mind is the Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart, who won the Giro three years ago and most recently the Tour of the Alps. His Ineos team also has a second option in Geraint Thomas. Joao Almeida (UAE), Konrad's teammate Alexander Wlasow and Hugh Carthy (EF) are also among the favorites. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain) has to do it for the host country, which has not won since Vincenzo Nibali in 2016.

Roglic and Evenepoel, who are extremely fast not only uphill but also in time trials, will be difficult to bend on a regular course. The Belgian won a Grand Tour in his second attempt at the Vuelta last year, when Roglic dropped out injured. In his second Giro - in 2021 he had to give up due to a fall injury - the 23-year-old world champion from the Soudal team should take another step towards his dream goal of the Tour de France.

Evenepoel slightly favoured “Driving in Italy is always special. I love it, I love the incredible Tifosi and their passion for cycling. Of course it’s even more special to compete in the Giro as world champion in the rainbow jersey,” said Evenepoel full of anticipation. He recently demonstrated that he is in top form with his impressive Liège-Bastogne-Liège victory. Nevertheless, he was cautious: “It's no secret that I'm aiming for a good result in the overall classification.” Like Roglic, who hasn't competed in a race since the end of March, he spent weeks preparing for altitude training in Tenerife.

Remco Evenepoel is aiming for his first Giro victory. © APA/afp / TOM GOYVAERTS

The 106th edition of the Giro will open with a 20 km individual time trial in Fossacesia Marina, and the final decision will also be made in a fight against the clock. On May 27th, not far from the border with Carinthia, in the steep mountain time trial to Monte Lussari near Tarvisio. After that there is only a flat stage in Rome on the program.

As usual, the race only has a few flat parts of the day this time, but there are numerous climbs and seven mountain finishes. It starts with the Gran Sasso (7th stage), followed by, among others, Monte Bondone (16th) and the Passo Cibiana (18th). A detour to Switzerland on May 19th takes us over the Great Saint Bernard and the Col de la Croix de Coeur to Crans-Montana, with an altitude difference of over 5.000 meters to be overcome.

Queen's stage in the Dolomites The next day, the route of the 14th stage leads over the Simplon Pass back to Italy to Cassano Magnago. On the third-to-last day, the queen stage in the Dolomites is a final monster section with the Campolongo, Falzarego, Giau passes and the finish at the foot of the Three Peaks. Then we head to Friuli for the Lussari showdown.

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The big Giro duel: Evenepoel against Roglic

The Giro d'Italia, which starts on Saturday, could result in a tough duel between Primoz Roglic and the young Belgian star Remco Evenepoel. Both have impressed with several victories this spring; in a direct duel, the much more experienced Slovenian was just ahead on the Tour of Catalonia.

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