THE POGACAR BLUFF
In my opinion the only mistake he made was to declare that he didn’t want to take the jersey on the first stage, but in the race he put the team to pull and therefore clearly raced to win. I didn’t understand it, making these bluffs isn’t the best, especially for a runner of his level, and this way you can make enemies. Having worn out the team like this on the first day is not the best. On the final shot he thought he had more for me, but he didn’t have the Liège leg.
DIFFICULT TO KEEP THESE RHYTHMS FOR 21 STAGES
Pogacar must necessarily change his approach. The team is strong, but it can’t handle this amount of work from the first to the last day. For example, tomorrow in Oropa he won’t be able to ask for a job like today’s, he has to spare his teammates in view of a very tough third week.
THE NARVAEZ SURPRISE
Narvaez is an excellent runner, he is in truly super condition. It amazed me that he kept Pogacar’s wheels up the climb, but also that he beat two fast runners in the sprint. He ran well, responded to the sprints, then didn’t make a change, remaining right behind Pogacar, and finally set up the sprint well. He jumped them very clearly: if I had to bet, I would have said that he would have finished third. In theory he’s not a ranking man, but when you’re there… It’s uphill, then the third week remains to be seen. But he could also keep the pink jersey for a long time.
DAMIANO CARUSO ALREADY ON THE ATTACK
Caruso is an experienced rider. He knows that if he sits there and waits for the third week, then he could find himself fighting just for a placing. If he got ahead of the best, it means he’s fine. By doing so perhaps he lost less than if he had taken the final climb together with Pogacar.
GOOD PERFORMANCE FOR TIBERI
I saw Tiberi well, but he was also excellent in the sprint, he had legs. His condition is good, we know that he came out of the Tour of the Alps well, now tomorrow will be a good test for him to understand if he can really make the rankings.
PELLIZZARI AMONG THE PROTAGONISTS
Pellizzari is a very interesting young man, he doesn’t just sit around: he anticipates, he shows up. He understood that we shouldn’t suffer, but anticipate. We have to do this when there are riders of this caliber like Pogacar.
BARDET NOT OUT OF THE GAME YET
I didn’t expect this crisis for Bardet, I thought he would be more reactive. Some runners pay for the first few days, it was a very demanding stage. The gap of just over a minute weighs heavily, but I don’t feel like cutting him out of the game, he has experience and we will certainly see him later. Certainly 70 km time trial will be tough for him, but he could also enter into some distant breakaways.
ARENSMAN RAISES THE WHITE FLAG
Arensman paid for this tough stage, some riders struggle to find the condition and need more days to find the condition. He too will now have to aim to enter a breakaway to try to make up for lost time.
TOMORROW’S STAGE IN OROPA
Tomorrow I expect a control race from Team Ineos, who will want to keep the pink jersey. There will be an escape from afar. Pogacar will want to make up for it, but he will put the front team to work only close to the climb. For tomorrow the Slovenian is the favourite, he has a bad tooth, the finish line will be quite challenging. I don’t expect Tiberi to win the stage, but that he can finish in the top 10 and have a small gap.
Alessandro Ballan is testimonial for Banca Mediolanum at the Giro d’Italia 2024
PREVIOUS EPISODES
The presentation of the Giro d’Italia
