The passion and pulse of Italy, three weeks of unpredictable spring weather, and Tadej Pogačar, what’s not to love about the 2024 Giro d’Italia?
The UAE Team Emirates superstar is chasing one of cycling’s most elusive milestones with the Giro-Tour de France double, and it all starts this weekend.
No one’s pulled the double since 1998, and after such names as Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, and Vincenzo Nibali all fell short, the nearly infallible Pogačar stands a very good chance to win the pink jersey.
Yet the Slovenian slayer’s presence is a bit of a quandary for the Giro.
He will immediately raise the level and prestige of the season’s first grand tour, but everyone is expecting it to be such a cake walk that fans might lose interest as soon as he snags pink.
Giro d’Italia
Edition: 107th
Dates: May 4-26
Total distance: 3,408km
Time trials: 68.2km
Stages: 21
Start: Venaria Reale
Finish: Rome
Riders: 176
Teams: 22
Defending champion: Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma)
UAE and Pogačar will start Saturday with utmost respect for the race and their collective rivals, but can anyone realistically expect to be beat him?
There’s a long list of would-be usurpers to what many are calling a pre-ordained victory parade, but none of the other “Big 4” took the bait of lining up for the Giro in an Olympic year.
Yet the tapestry of the Giro and the unbridled passion of the tifosi will make this Giro one to remember and savor.
Thousands of Slovenians are sure to cross the border for the closing week across northern Italy that’s capped by a return of the Stelvi0 and Monte Grappa.
Pogačar will be racing to add his name alongside such legends as Eddy Merckx and Andy Hampsten, to modern-day winners like Froome and Egan Bernal.
Somewhat surprisingly, the only former winner lining up this weekend will be Nairo Quintana.
The first step toward the elusive “Pantani double” starts this weekend. Pogačar’s presence will certainly elevate the race and energize the Italian fans.
No matter what happens, the “the hardest race in the most beautiful place” always delivers.
How to watch the Giro on TV
Giro organizers are promising the most comprehensive coverage in race history this month across various platforms, including TV, streaming, social media, and live updates.
Here’s the updated list of TV and streaming access:
USA: The race will be carried on Max.
Canada: FloBikes will stream the full race.
UK: Eurosport and Discovery+ will carry the race.
South America: Live on DirecTV and Claro, and in Colombia with live broadcasts via Caracol and RCN Television.
Europe: RAI, SRG in Switzerland, EITB in the Basque Country, and VRT, VTM and RTL in Belgium will offer through-the-air broadcasts, plus Eurosport, Eurosport Player, and Discovery +.
Australia: SBS broadcast the Giro live and on demand, with daily highlights.
The Giro can also be followed on Strava, will official routes and segments on key stages. Tadej Pogacar, Filippo Ganna, Romain Bardet, and Tim Merlier are among the riders sharing data on Strava during the race.
Vincenzo Nibali, Domenico Pozzovivo and Lello Ferrara will be hosting Lo Squalo TV on Twitch. The Giro will also have a heavy presence across all the major social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, X, Tik Tok, YouTube, and DailyMotion.
Of course, check Velo in our Giro hub and our social media channels for daily coverage, behind-the-scenes analysis, and complete stage reports.
Can someone disrupt the UAE script?
A quick glance down the preliminary start list reveals a relatively thin GC field.
Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) emerges as the top threat, but at nearly 38, will he really be able to go mano-a-mano with peak Pogačar? A third in the 2022 Tour de France saw him emerge as the best of the rest behind the Pogi-Jonas Vingegaard show.
A narrow loss last year at the Giro to Primož Roglič proves Thomas can still go the distance. With a very deep Ineos Grenadiers support crew, Thomas will be threat No. 1.
Who else?
Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-Ag2r) and Romain Bardet (DSM-firmenich-PostNL) stand out, but it’s been since 2017 that the proud Frenchman hit a podium, and climber O’Connor has struggled to repeat his breakout 2022 Tour when he won a mountain stage and finished fourth overall.
Wout Poels and Damiano Caruso headline Bahrain Victorious, but again, neither have ever shown they’ve been able to stay in the frame when Pogačar opens up the turbos.
What’s striking is how few of the peloton’s biggest names have decided to even race the Giro.
For the rest of the “Big 4,” the Tour is the eternal draw. Everyone’s hoping Vingegaard, Roglič, and Remco Evenepoel, who’s making his Tour debut, can all show up in Italy for the June 29 in full strength.
Could there be a surprise lurking somewhere in the bunch?
Daniel Martínez will see his chance to lead at Bora-Hansgrohe, while Hugh Carthy leads EF Education-EasyPost, but both need to ride above their podium-outsider status.
Luke Plapp or Eddy Dunbar could spring loose at Jayco-AlUla, always one of the scrappiest teams in the bunch.
Cian Uijtdebroeks headlines Visma-Lease a Bike, but no one is expecting the banged up Dutch team to repeat its grand tour sweep of 2023 this year.
A Giro ‘light’ could deliver surprises
Organizers delivered a different twist on the Giro template for 2024.
If they were hoping a less-menacing edition of the corsa rosa might entice Pogačar, they were proven correct. UAE officials said the relatively “light” edition of this year’s Giro was one factor in helping steer the team toward Italy this month with its superstar.
That’s not to say the Giro will be easy. No three-week grand tour is, and there is an interesting mix of terrain across the month of May to keep things in suspense.
The front half of the Giro might be lacking a few truly challenging days, but the final week tradition of altitude and attrition remains fully intact. Stages 15, 16 (which sees a return of the Stelvio), and 17 will deliver a three-way punch to the gut to the peloton with endless climbs across the mountains of northern Italy.
The battle for the podium could last all the way to Monte Grappa on the penultimate stage, with a double ascent of the famed climb and a harrowing, high-speed descent to the line.
Looks can be deceiving, and this Giro will be packed with pain.
Sprinters and breakaway riders will love this year’s course, and with nearly 70km in two individual time trials — an additional that tilts in Pogačar’s favor — the race will offer something for everyone.
And yes, there’s even a bit of gravel in stage 6.
Stages of the 2024 Giro d’Italia
Stage 1: Venaria Reale to Torino, 136km
Stage 2: San Francesco al Campo to Santuario di Oropa, 150km*
Stage 3: Novara to Fossano, 165km
Stage 4: Acqui Terme to Andora, 187km
Stage 5: Genova to Lucca, 176km
Stage 6: Viareggio to Rapolano Terme, 177km
Stage 7: Foligno to Perugia, 37.2km (TT)
Stage 8: Spoleto to Prati di Tivo, 153km*
Stage 9: Avezzano to Napoli, 206km
Stage 10: Pompei to Cusano Mutri, 141km*
Stage 11: Foiano di Val Fortore to Francavilla al Mare, 203km
Stage 12: Martinsicuro to Fano, 183km
Stage 13: Riccione to Cento, 179km
Stage 14: Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda, 31km (TT)
Stage 15: Manerba del Garda to Livigno, 220km*
Stage 16: Livigno to Santa Cristina Valgardena, 202km*
Stage 17: Selva di Gardena in Gröden to Passo del Brocon, 154km*
Stage 18: Fiera di Primiero to Padova, 166km
Stage 19: Mortegliano to Sappada, 154km*
Stage 20: Alpago to Bassano del Grappa, 175km
Stage 21: Roma-Roma, 126km
(* denotes summit finale)
Past 10 winners of the Giro d’Italia
2023: Primož Roglič (Slovenia)
2022: Jai Hindley (Australia)
2021: Egan Bernal (Colombia)
2020: Tao Geoghegan Hart (United Kingdom)
2019: Richard Carapaz (Ecuador)
2018: Chris Froome (United Kingdom)
2017: Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands)
2016: Vincenzo Nibali (Italy)
2015: Alberto Contador (Spain)
2014: Nairo Quintana (Colombia)
3 things that could derail Pogačar
Pogačar is so heavily favorited that it could be something beyond the actual racing that might stop him.
If Thomas or Bardet cannot beat him, other variables could play the spoiler.
The top danger for any rider in a grand tour is illness or injury.
So far, Pogačar’s had an incredible run across his grand tour racing career. He’s never finished worse than third (in his grand tour debut at the 2019 Vuelta a España), and he’s finished second or won in four subsequent Tour starts.
♂️ Get ready to witness history in the making as the Giro d’Italia 2024 culminates its journey in the Eternal City!
Starting from Eur and finishing near the Colosseum on Via San Gregorio, it’s set to be a breathtaking 125 km race.#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/HsilK4zBUw
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) April 8, 2024
Since turning pro in 2019, Pogačar has finished every stage race he’s started in an impeccable run. He’s seen a handful of DNF’s in one-day races, most recently in last year’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège when his injury might have cost him the yellow jersey last summer.
Pogačar rarely falls ill or crashes, so odds are in his favor — even with the sometimes horrible spring weather of Italy — that he will make it to Rome on May 26.
Another risk: A rogue breakaway.
UAE Team Emirates won’t want to let down its collective guard.
Giro history is loaded with unexpected twists of fate that can tip the GC balance. Of all the grand tours, the Giro is most prone for things to get turned upside down.
The Giro is unique in many ways, and part of its allure is that the race is notably under less control than the Tour de France.
In July, every rider and team lines up at their absolute peak of powers for the season’s most important stage race. It’s rare to see the Tour unravel into chaos or disarray.
That’s not always the case at the Giro, where teams will often fill out their rosters with sprinters, second-tier leaders, or with younger riders making a grand tour debut. Budding American stars Magnus Sheffield of Ineos Grenadiers and Luke Lamperti of Soudal Quick-Step, for example, will be among several grand tour rookies during this Giro.
More sprinters are headed to this Giro, so several teams will be loaded with “trains” to go all-in to control the made-for-sprints finales, but will be tempted to turn down the pressure on other stages.
This dynamic of an uneven peloton, mixed in with the highly unpredictable weather, can sometimes produce unexpected surprises in the form of “rogue” breakaways than disappear up the road and turn the GC narrative upside down.
Only 1 month to go! #GirodItalia #TudorWatch #BornToDare pic.twitter.com/HDwMWaDVdO
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) April 4, 2024
It’s happened in the past, with one of most notable examples coming in the monster 262km 11th stage to L’Aquila in treacherous weather in the 2010 Giro.
Richie Porte, then an unsung WorldTour newbie, rode into the pink jersey after a huge break of 40 riders took more than 12 minutes on the main GC contender’s group. It took eventual winner Ivan Basso all the way to stage 19 to dislodge the pink jersey from David Arroyo, another rider in the rogue break, before regaining control of the race.
UAE Team Emirates will have strong support for Pogačar, with experienced hands like Rafal Majka, Felix Grosschartner, Mikkel Bjerg, and Domen Novak expected to be vigilant against any unwelcome surprises.
So what else? To beat Pogačar in this Giro, it might take an act of God or ‘force majeure.’
No stage race ever goes to plan, but the chances of victory are so stacked heavily in Pogačar’s favor that the oddsmakers are putting him at 1.20 odds to win.
Yet sometimes the unexpected can happen. Call it force majeure, an unforeseeable event that can alter the outcome beyond the norms of a three-week stage race.
That could come in the form of natural disasters, like an earthquake or a major snow slide. These things happen. Most recently, the 2019 Tour de France saw two decisive climbing stages in the French Alps neutralized and altered by landslides that played a definitive role in the final outcome that year.
Not to be too dramatic, but strikes, war, and other meteorological disasters could force stages to be shortened, altered, or canceled.
Farmers have been protesting across Europe all spring, all but forcing the cancellation of the Ruta del Sol and disrupting other races. There are wars in Ukraine and Israel that could spiral out of control, and maybe COVID-19 could make a snarling comeback.
Pogačar could be caught out on the wrong side of any number of disasters, and might not win this Giro. Let’s hope everyone stays upright, healthy, and races all the way to Rome without divine intervention.
Start list for 2024 Giro d’Italia
