The start of the 2024 Giro d’Italia is getting closer and closer: the Great Departure from Turin is just over a week away and the first announcements are arriving, like yesterday’s from the organization that drew up the list of participants. It’s not official yet, there might be some last minute changes, but they’re practically certain captains for the various teams for the Corsa Rosa.
Who will challenge Tadej Pogacar for final success? The Slovenian from UAE Emirates is obviously the huge favorite and starts one step (if not two) above all the others towards the Endless Trophy. For him the goal is to put on a show, win several stages, but also manage himself in view of the Tour de France where he will try to achieve the sensational double.
There will be a small group of riders who will try to launch the assault, but most likely they will fight for the podium: we are talking about Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R The World Team), Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) and Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), the three main candidates to make the best impression on the climb.
In third row here are Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers), Daniel Felipe Martínez (BORA – hansgrohe), Cian Uijtdebroeks (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Hugh Carthy (EF Education – EasyPost) and Juan Pedro López (Lidl – Trek), who if they were to find the right period could launch the challenge for the top-5.
In Italy, the main suspects for a leading role in the general classification are the two from Bahrain-Victorious: Damiano Caruso and, above all, Antonio Tiberi.
