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Gabriele gianuzzi
Geraint Thomas and Simon Yates have an account open at the Giro d’Italia. The former had to test the asphalt and subsequently withdraw due to the unfortunate decision of a police officer to park on the side of the road at a decisive moment in the approach to the Blockhaus in 2017. The latter, the following year, saw the hopes of winning the pink jersey in front of one of the most beautiful feats modern cycling has produced, namely Chris Froome at Colle delle Finestre.
Geraint Thomas has never returned to the Giro roads after 2017. He focused on the Tour and took home the yellow jersey in 2018 and a second place in 2019. Simon Yates won La Vuelta and returned to the Giro last year convinced that he had “exorcised” the defeat of the previous year. His belief collided with reality, severely collapsing, again, in the last week.
This year they both start as captains, driven by an excellent Tirreno – Adriatico closed in first place for Yates and second for Thomas. In conclusion, I think they both have what it takes to fight for the final victory. Thomas, among other things, due to technical characteristics is very suitable for the type of climbs that will be tackled during the three weeks and the time trial is one of the best. Simon Yates is a sight when he’s in the day. He is a generous rider who does not limit himself to the task. Among the potential winners, he is the only one who has the explosiveness for a decisive uphill attack and could put many opponents in trouble.
It is often said that extra motivation is needed to win the Giro. For Carapaz it was the push from his home country, for Froome the epic of the company, for Dumoulin the first victory in a great Giro. Here I would not underestimate the desire for redemption and revenge of Thomas and Yates. Above 2,000 meters, when your legs hurt and your head is clouded with fatigue, throwing your heart over the obstacle can make all the difference.
Umberto Preite Martinez
Thomas and Yates are the must-have favorites, but I’d also place Steven Kruijswijk alongside them. In the initial plans he should have raced the Tour de France supporting Roglic, but a crash at the Dauphiné led the team to divert him towards the Giro. One race, the Italian, which has a huge account open with the Dutchman from the Jumbo-Visma: it was 2016 when a Kruijswijk in a pink jersey, seemingly unattainable, crashed into a wall of snow on the descent of Colle dell’Agnello, breaking, In addition to a couple of ribs, also the hopes of victory. This year Kruijswijk returns to the Giro with a different maturity: he is now 33 years old and since that damn 2016 he has collected a 3rd and 5th place on the Tour and a 4th place on the Vuelta. Perhaps compared to four years ago it has lost a bit of luster, but certainly the captain of the “Wasps “ He comes to the Giro to win it. He defends well in the time trials, he has always shown excellent things uphill although he has always gone unnoticed, and even from the point of view of physical strength and consistency during the three weeks he has never shown problems, unlike his rivals. Beyond the canal.
“The clothes hanger” (literally the crutch), as it is called in its parts due to the particular conformation of the shoulders, it is a hard and pure regulator. His team is literally flying in the post-lockdown and also in the Giro they will have a good line-up to control every race situation. Even if she hasn’t raced since that autumn at the Dauphiné a month and a half ago, Kruijswijk is still one of my most indestructible certainties.
Photo by LUK BENIES / AFP via Getty Images
On the other hand, the one who is always included among the favorites for this Giro d’Italia and who, on the other hand, leaves me more than a few perplexities, is Jakob Fuglsang. He too is now mature (born 85) and has an excellent team in tow, but unlike Kruijswijk, he has never shone in the big stage races, racking up very little during his long career. He had turned professional with the stamp of great promise, but until a couple of years ago he had never managed to emerge. Instead, last year he surprised everyone in the spring classics by overwhelming Liege-Bastogne-Liege, this year Lombardia won and finished fifth in the recent World Cup in Imola. However, despite this feat in one-day races, the jump in the three weeks has never been successful. Of course, on paper it is still one of the favorites but its possibilities, looking at the history of its results and its characteristics, are not exactly optimistic.
