Matt White: I’d be surprised if UAE let Pogačar ride the Giro d’Italia

Australian says the Giro d’Italia is still the hardest Grand Tour in the calendar

13:42, Wednesday 18th October 2023

Daniel Benson

Editor in Chief

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Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard at the 2023 Tour de France

The Tour de France route has yet to be announced but already speculation is rife surrounding the possible permutations as Grand Tour leaders consider their 2024 options. However, Jayco AlUla’s Matt White does not believe that the cycling world will see either Primož Roglič or Tadej Pogačar at the Giro d’Italia next year.

Roglič, the defending Giro d’Italia champion, was in Trento last week for the unveiling of next year’s route and all but ruled out returning to the race. The Slovenian, who will race for Bora-Hansgrohe next year is destined to target the Tour de France and make that the centrepiece of his upcoming campaign, while Pogačar will finalise his race programme after a set of meetings in the UAE later this year.

There had been rumours of a possible Giro-Tour double for the all-rounder, and race organiser Mauro Vegni highlighted the fact that the 2024 Giro route had fewer mountain stages and easier transfers in a bid to appear potential challengers.

However, according to Matt White, the chances of Pogačar targeting the maglia rosa and maillot jaune in the same calendar year are slim.

“Unless there’s a concrete deal in place, I doubt that the Giro organisers made it softer for one man. I still think it’s possible to do the Giro and Tour but there’s always a risk going into the Giro, not knowing what the weather will be and not knowing how deep you’ll have to go in order to win. You just don't know how you’re going to bounce out of the Giro before you have to do it all again at the Tour,” White told GCN after analysing the full Giro d’Italia race route.

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White also highlighted the fact that a barrage of riders have attempted to win the men’s Giro and Tour de France in the same year and come unstuck down the home straight. Not since Marco Pantani in 1998 has a rider achieved the feat.

“We’ve not seen the Tour route yet but rumour has it that it's not going to be easy with a mountain stage on day four. You’re going to have to be good right off the mark at the Tour. That’s a risk if you’re doing the Giro. The only person to come close to Pantani is Chris Froome in 2018 when he won the Giro with two days to go and then he podiumed at the Tour de France.”

Pogačar isn’t the only consideration within the UAE Team Emirates stable. There are several riders deserving of leadership challenges within Grand Tours, and handing Pogačar the reins for both the Giro and Tour would isolate several teammates with ambitions.

“At UAE they’re also trying to manage a few stars,” White said.

They’ve got Adam Yates, Joao Almeida, Juan Ayuso... all good race programmes. So they’re not just managing one rider. They’ve a lot of stars in their team, so if Pogacar goes to the Tour and the Giro as the leader, what does that leave the other riders with? The Giro and the Vuelta double works, it’s a safer option and if there’s another double option that’s on the table, then it’s the Tour and the Vuelta. I’d be very surprised if UAE let Pogacar ride the Giro.

“I also can’t see Roglič doing the Giro. He’s the defending champion but he’s only got a limited amount of Tours left. He’s robust enough to try the double but the only thing left in his palmarès to achieve is the Tour de France. So why risk going to the Giro, and risk not being at your optimal condition at the Tour de France,” White added.

A sprinter-friendly Giro d'Italia pleases Jayco AlUla

Jayco AlUla’s own plans for the Giro d’Italia also remain unknown at this point. The Tour route comes out on October 25 but the Australian team do have options. Caleb Ewan and Dylan Groenewegen will race split race programmes and divide the Grand Tours between them while Eddie Dunbar and Simon Yates will race GC.

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This year Dunbar made the top-ten in the Giro d’Italia and Yates finished fourth in the Tour de France. A repeat of those goals could be on the cards again for 2024, although White was unwilling to confirm or elaborate on the team’s rosters at this stage.

“I’ve definitely seen harder last weeks and the thing that stands out for me is the lack of stages over 200km,” he said of the Giro route in general.

“There’s potential for a lot of sprint stages, which is nice if you have sprinter, which we do, but at the end of the day there’s something for everyone. It’s still, always, the hardest Grand Tour. I know we’ve not seen the Tour route but in the Giro you can get summer weather, winter weather, and you can get it all within 24 hours. For me, it’s still physically the hardest Grand Tour.”