With cycling’s most famous Slovenian absent, another steps up. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) arrives at the Giro d’Italia start line in Durres, Albania the hot favourite to succeed compatriot Tadej Pogacar and lift the crown at the first Grand Tour of this season.
But even without Pogacar UAE Team Emirates-XRG have a strong contender to foil Roglic: young Spaniard Juan Ayuso, who is searching for his first Grand Tour title.
Both teams have selected a strong line-up to deliver their leading men to glory: Roglic will be supported by faithful lieutenant Dani Martinez – second at the Giro last year in his own right – and one of the 2024 race’s breakout stars in climber Giulio Pellizzari.
Ayuso can rely on the services of rock-solid mountain domestique Rafal Majka and another with Grand Tour podium pedigree in Adam Yates, as well as having the joker card of another serious young talent, Isaac del Toro.
Wildcard team Q36.5 will be in Grand Tour action for the first time, supporting Tom Pidcock as the Brit either hunts stages or targets the general classification, while there’s more British representation in his teammate Mark Donovan; Ineos Grenadiers with time-triallist Josh Tarling - a likely candidate for stage 2’s contre-la-montre in the Albanian capital Tirana - and Ben Turner; EF Education-EasyPost’s duo of Owain Doull and James Shaw; and Visma-Lease a Bike’s GC contender and former Vuelta champion Simon Yates.
Young British climber Max Poole will support French veteran Romain Bardet’s bid for one last moment in the sun before he hangs up his cleats (on the road at least), and Ethan Hayter is a prospect for the sprint stages at Soudal Quick-Step alongside another talented French starlet, Paul Magnier.
Other major names include the phenomenally talented all-rounder Wout van Aert and his rival from the recent Spring Classics, Mads Pedersen, as well as Ineos Grenadiers’ Egan Bernal, a former Giro winner back at the scene of one of his past glories, and the ageless Grand Tour stalwart and 2014 champion Nairo Quintana.
