Latest news with #Pogacar
Irish Examiner
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Pogacar's absence from Giro d'Italia may offer breath of fresh air for competition
The 2025 Giro d'Italia may lack the star power of the Tour de France, but it is likely to make up for it with dynamic and unpredictable racing when it gets under way in Tirana on Friday. Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, the top three riders in last year's Tour de France, are not racing, but the Giro will, as ever, throw up plentiful drama. Even so, this year's lineup has been characterised by some as a cast of Pogacar-avoidant wannabes, nearly men and fading champions that have travelled to Albania for the Grande Partenza. That's a little unfair on a quality field that includes the past Giro winners Primoz Roglic and his Bora Hansgrohe teammate Jai Hindley, the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and a resurgent Egan Bernal, the Colombian climber leading Ineos Grenadiers. Yet it only serves to emphasise the dominance of the seemingly unstoppable Pogacar – who rather than defend his title, has opted to focus on July's Tour de France – that so much of the pre-race chat has been about the Slovenian's absence. Even the 2023 Giro champion, Roglic, when asked about his 2025 schedule said: 'I will choose the races where Tadej is not.' But total dominance, in any sport, can become predictable. Certainly, given his form, the absence of Pogacar will increase the ambition of many in the peloton. In that sense, the Giro may be a breath of fresh air. With the 35-year-old Roglic starting as favourite, thanks to a Grand Tour record that includes four wins in the Vuelta, this Giro will be volatile and unpredictable, as a plethora of riders see it as their best chance to succeed in a Grand Tour, while Pogacar is active. Roglic also sees the Giro as a chance to boost his morale, before another July showdown with compatriot Pogacar. Roglic's team manager, Rolf Aldag, said this spring: 'Do you go into the Tour with uncertainty, facing what seems to be an unbeatable Pogacar? Or do you arrive feeling ready, because you've already proven yourself?' For others, such as Tom Pidcock, it's an opportunity to be grabbed with both hands. The double Olympic champion, having left Ineos Grenadiers last winter for the more modest Q36.5 team, has re-established himself as one of road racing's hot talents. Even so, he has ruled himself out of overall contention. 'We're here to pick our moments,' he said of his debut appearance in the Italian race. His team, which qualified as a wildcard based on his early-season form, is largely happy just to be there. But Pidcock will already be eyeing the opening three stages on Albanian soil which include two days of punchy mid-length climbs sandwiching Saturday's short individual time trial, looping in and out of Tirana. 'Mainly I just want to race, get stuck in every day and enjoy racing the Giro,' Pidcock said. 'I think the opportunities will come if I do that. I have a good relationship with Italy and this is one of the races I've wanted to do.' While Roglic will be seeking to stamp his authority on the general classification, particularly in that early test against the clock, a clutch of others will also want to assert themselves. Perhaps the greatest threat comes from Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates stablemate Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard has never seemed entirely happy to race in Pogacar's shadow and revealed that he had hoped to lead his team in last year's Giro, a race that his team leader won by almost 10 minutes. The 22-year-old does not lack in ambition and has already said: 'It would be a disappointment not to finish in the top three, because I would consider that a step backwards.' Wout van Aert has been sick in recent days and ruled himself out of contending for the leader's maglia rosa. 'My preparation was not ideal,' he admitted, 'but we will see day by day, without big expectations.' Van Aert's teammate Simon Yates may be one of those able to threaten what on paper looks likely to be a Roglic-Ayuso duel. The pair have already gone head to head this season, in March's Volta a Catalunya, with Roglic snatching overall victory on the final day. Bernal, who won the Tour de France and Giro before his career was threatened by a horrific high-speed training crash in 2022, remains unsure if he can ever attain his past levels of performance. 'I don't know,' the Ineos Grenadiers leader said, 'but at least I'm still preparing myself for that. Every morning I get up, try to do my best. I'm still believing, battling every day. I enjoy cycling more now than when I was winning, so we will see.' Guardian
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pogacar's absence from Giro d'Italia may offer breath of fresh air for competition
The Giro d'Italia may be missing the top three riders from last year's Tour de France but will still throw up plenty of drama. The Giro d'Italia may be missing the top three riders from last year's Tour de France but will still throw up plenty of drama. Photograph: Andrea Amato/IPA Sport/ The 2025 Giro d'Italia may lack the star power of the Tour de France, but it is likely to make up for it with dynamic and unpredictable racing when it gets under way in Tirana on Friday. Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, the top three riders in last year's Tour de France, are not racing, but the Giro will, as ever, throw up plentiful drama. Advertisement Even so, this year's lineup has been characterised by some as a cast of Pogacar-avoidant wannabes, nearly men and fading champions that have travelled to Albania for the Grande Partenza. Related: Geraint Thomas: 'It's been up and down. You remember the good times' That's a little unfair on a quality field that includes the past Giro winners Primoz Roglic and his Bora Hansgrohe teammate Jai Hindley, the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and a resurgent Egan Bernal, the Colombian climber leading Ineos Grenadiers. Yet it only serves to emphasise the dominance of the seemingly unstoppable Pogacar – who rather than defend his title, has opted to focus on July's Tour de France – that so much of the pre-race chat has been about the Slovenian's absence. Even the 2023 Giro champion, Roglic, when asked about his 2025 schedule said: 'I will choose the races where Tadej is not.' Advertisement But total dominance, in any sport, can become predictable. Certainly, given his form, the absence of Pogacar will increase the ambition of many in the peloton. In that sense, the Giro may be a breath of fresh air. With the 35-year-old Roglic starting as favourite, thanks to a Grand Tour record that includes four wins in the Vuelta, this Giro will be volatile and unpredictable, as a plethora of riders see it as their best chance to succeed in a Grand Tour, while Pogacar is active. Roglic also sees the Giro as a chance to boost his morale, before another July showdown with compatriot Pogacar. Roglic's team manager, Rolf Aldag, said this spring: 'Do you go into the Tour with uncertainty, facing what seems to be an unbeatable Pogacar? Or do you arrive feeling ready, because you've already proven yourself?' For others, such as Tom Pidcock, it's an opportunity to be grabbed with both hands. The double Olympic champion, having left Ineos Grenadiers last winter for the more modest Q36.5 team, has re-established himself as one of road racing's hot talents. Even so, he has ruled himself out of overall contention. 'We're here to pick our moments,' he said of his debut appearance in the Italian race. His team, which qualified as a wildcard based on his early-season form, is largely happy just to be there. Advertisement But Pidcock will already be eyeing the opening three stages on Albanian soil which include two days of punchy mid-length climbs sandwiching Saturday's short individual time trial, looping in and out of Tirana. 'Mainly I just want to race, get stuck in every day and enjoy racing the Giro,' Pidcock said. 'I think the opportunities will come if I do that. I have a good relationship with Italy and this is one of the races I've wanted to do.' While Roglic will be seeking to stamp his authority on the general classification, particularly in that early test against the clock, a clutch of others will also want to assert themselves. Perhaps the greatest threat comes from Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates stablemate Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard has never seemed entirely happy to race in Pogacar's shadow and revealed that he had hoped to lead his team in last year's Giro, a race that his team leader won by almost 10 minutes. The 22-year-old does not lack in ambition and has already said: 'It would be a disappointment not to finish in the top three, because I would consider that a step backwards.' Wout van Aert has been sick in recent days and ruled himself out of contending for the leader's maglia rosa. 'My preparation was not ideal,' he admitted, 'but we will see day by day, without big expectations.' Advertisement Van Aert's teammate Simon Yates may be one of those able to threaten what on paper looks likely to be a Roglic-Ayuso duel. The pair have already gone head to head this season, in March's Volta a Catalunya, with Roglic snatching overall victory on the final day. Bernal, who won the Tour de France and Giro before his career was threatened by a horrific high-speed training crash in 2022, remains unsure if he can ever attain his past levels of performance. 'I don't know,' the Ineos Grenadiers leader said, 'but at least I'm still preparing myself for that. Every morning I get up, try to do my best. I'm still believing, battling every day. I enjoy cycling more now than when I was winning, so we will see.'
NBC Sports
08-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Primoz Roglic aiming to do a Tadej Pogacar by winning the Giro-Tour double
MILAN — Anything Pog can do so can Rog. Primoz Roglic will try to step out of the shadow of the all-conquering Tadej Pogacar by emulating his Slovenian compatriot when the Giro d'Italia starts in Albania. Last season, Pogacar, who rides for UAE Team Emirates, became the first cyclist in 26 years to win the Giro and Tour de France in the same year. Now Roglic and his Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe team have their eyes on the double. 'You can get some inspiration by looking at how UAE approached it, and seeing the ideas,' team head of performance Dan Lorang says. 'You have to focus on yourself, but it would be stupid to close the eyes and not look left and right. 'You get inspiration when you see what's possible, and that's motivating. Pogacar proved the Giro and the Tour is possible.' In the absence of cycling's dominant duo, Pogacar and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, Roglic is the favorite going into the Giro — although it is unlikely to be the demolition job it proved last year, when the question almost from the start was not if Pogacar would win but by how much. In the end, Pogacar won by the race's biggest margin of victory in nearly six decades. The previous year, Roglic won the Giro by one of the smallest margins. Five-time Grand Tour winner Roglic will head into the grueling three-week race backed by a strong team that includes 2022 winner Jai Hindley and last year's runner-up Dani Martínez. 'The goal is to win, of course,' Lorang said. 'Having Primoz on board now changes things for us. He knows how to win three-week stage races and the Giro. 'We planned for a victory at the Giro from winter until now.' Other favorites Pogacar won't be one of Roglic's main rivals at the Giro but one of his teammates will be. With a reputation as the rising star of Spanish cycling, Juan Ayuso will regard anything less than a podium finish a disappointment. Ayuso told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that he wouldn't see it as failure if he failed to win on his Giro debut. He wasn't finished. 'But at the same time, I'm not saying that I would be happy with a podium, either. It would be a disappointment not to finish in the top three, because I would consider that a step backwards.' It will be a fight between experience and youth. The 22-year-old Ayuso is already a winner in Italy this season after success at the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico but he was pipped on home turf by the 35-year-old Roglic at the Volta a Catalunya. This Giro won't just be a two-man race, however. There are other potential winners, up-and-comers and those with tested general classification potential. The peloton includes five former Giro winners — beside Roglic and Hindley were Nairo Quintana (2014), Richard Carapaz (2019) and Egan Bernal (2021). All have their names etched on the Trofeo Senza Fine (Trophy With No End). Route There's a saying that you can't win the Giro in the first week but you can certainly lose it. There is no major set-piece mountain battle in the first half of the race unlike in other editions, and — as usual — a brutal final week. But riders will still face plenty of difficulties right from the start. Three tricky stages in Albania are followed by the Giro moving to the heel of Italy and the route snaking north. Stage seven sees the first summit finish and two days later there is a mini Strade Bianche on the white, gravel roads of Tuscany. The winner of the maglia rosa will be decided in the Alps, which hosts four of the five hardest mountain stages in the final week and more than 9,000 meters of climbing in the two days before the climax in Rome. The 2,140-mile route ends on June 1 and includes a homage to the late Pope Francis by passing through an area of the Vatican rarely seen by the general public.
NBC Sports
08-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Primoz Roglic aiming to emulate Tadej Pogacar by winning the Giro-Tour double
MILAN — Anything Pog can do so can Rog. Primoz Roglic will try to step out of the shadow of the all-conquering Tadej Pogacar by emulating his Slovenian compatriot when the Giro d'Italia starts in Albania. Last season, Pogacar, who rides for UAE Team Emirates, became the first cyclist in 26 years to win the Giro and Tour de France in the same year. Now Roglic and his Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe team have their eyes on the double. 'You can get some inspiration by looking at how UAE approached it, and seeing the ideas,' team head of performance Dan Lorang says. 'You have to focus on yourself, but it would be stupid to close the eyes and not look left and right. 'You get inspiration when you see what's possible, and that's motivating. Pogacar proved the Giro and the Tour is possible.' In the absence of cycling's dominant duo, Pogacar and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, Roglic is the favorite going into the Giro — although it is unlikely to be the demolition job it proved last year, when the question almost from the start was not if Pogacar would win but by how much. In the end, Pogacar won by the race's biggest margin of victory in nearly six decades. The previous year, Roglic won the Giro by one of the smallest margins. Five-time Grand Tour winner Roglic will head into the grueling three-week race backed by a strong team that includes 2022 winner Jai Hindley and last year's runner-up Dani Martínez. 'The goal is to win, of course,' Lorang said. 'Having Primoz on board now changes things for us. He knows how to win three-week stage races and the Giro. 'We planned for a victory at the Giro from winter until now.' Other favorites Pogacar won't be one of Roglic's main rivals at the Giro but one of his teammates will be. With a reputation as the rising star of Spanish cycling, Juan Ayuso will regard anything less than a podium finish a disappointment. Ayuso told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that he wouldn't see it as failure if he failed to win on his Giro debut. He wasn't finished. 'But at the same time, I'm not saying that I would be happy with a podium, either. It would be a disappointment not to finish in the top three, because I would consider that a step backwards.' It will be a fight between experience and youth. The 22-year-old Ayuso is already a winner in Italy this season after success at the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico but he was pipped on home turf by the 35-year-old Roglic at the Volta a Catalunya. This Giro won't just be a two-man race, however. There are other potential winners, up-and-comers and those with tested general classification potential. The peloton includes five former Giro winners — beside Roglic and Hindley were Nairo Quintana (2014), Richard Carapaz (2019) and Egan Bernal (2021). All have their names etched on the Trofeo Senza Fine (Trophy With No End). Route There's a saying that you can't win the Giro in the first week but you can certainly lose it. There is no major set-piece mountain battle in the first half of the race unlike in other editions, and — as usual — a brutal final week. But riders will still face plenty of difficulties right from the start. Three tricky stages in Albania are followed by the Giro moving to the heel of Italy and the route snaking north. Stage seven sees the first summit finish and two days later there is a mini Strade Bianche on the white, gravel roads of Tuscany. The winner of the maglia rosa will be decided in the Alps, which hosts four of the five hardest mountain stages in the final week and more than 9,000 meters of climbing in the two days before the climax in Rome. The 2,140-mile route ends on June 1 and includes a homage to the late Pope Francis by passing through an area of the Vatican rarely seen by the general public.
Fox Sports
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Rog aiming to do a Pog by winning the Giro-Tour double. First up is conquering Italy again.
Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Anything Pog can do so can Rog. Primoz Roglic will try to step out of the shadow of the all-conquering Tadej Pogacar by emulating his Slovenian compatriot when the Giro d'Italia starts on Friday in Albania. Last season, Pogacar, who rides for UAE Team Emirates, became the first cyclist in 26 years to win the Giro and Tour de France in the same year. Now Roglic and his Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe team have their eyes on the double. 'You can get some inspiration by looking at how UAE approached it, and seeing the ideas,' team head of performance Dan Lorang says. 'You have to focus on yourself, but it would be stupid to close the eyes and not look left and right. 'You get inspiration when you see what's possible, and that's motivating. Pogacar proved the Giro and the Tour is possible.' In the absence of cycling's dominant duo, Pogacar and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, Roglic is the favorite going into the Giro — although it is unlikely to be the demolition job it proved last year, when the question almost from the start was not if Pogacar would win but by how much. In the end, Pogacar won by the race's biggest margin of victory in nearly six decades. The previous year, Roglic won the Giro by one of the smallest margins. Five-time Grand Tour winner Roglic will head into the gruelling three-week race backed by a strong team that includes 2022 winner Jai Hindley and last year's runner-up Dani Martínez. 'The goal is to win, of course,' Lorang said. 'Having Primoz on board now changes things for us. He knows how to win three-week stage races and the Giro. 'We planned for a victory at the Giro from winter until now.' Other favorites Pogacar won't be one of Roglic's main rivals at the Giro but one of his teammates will be. With a reputation as the rising star of Spanish cycling, Juan Ayuso will regard anything less than a podium finish a disappointment. Ayuso told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that he wouldn't see it as failure if he failed to win on his Giro debut. He wasn't finished. 'But at the same time, I'm not saying that I would be happy with a podium, either. It would be a disappointment not to finish in the top three, because I would consider that a step backwards.' It will be a fight between experience and youth. The 22-year-old Ayuso is already a winner in Italy this season after success at the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico but he was pipped on home turf by the 35-year-old Roglic at the Volta a Catalunya. This Giro won't just be a two-man race, however. There are other potential winners, up-and-comers and those with tested general classification potential. The peloton includes five former Giro winners — beside Roglic and Hindley were Nairo Quintana (2014), Richard Carapaz (2019) and Egan Bernal (2021). All have their names etched on the Trofeo Senza Fine (Trophy With No End). Route There's a saying that you can't win the Giro in the first week but you can certainly lose it. There is no major set-piece mountain battle in the first half of the race unlike in other editions, and — as usual — a brutal final week. But riders will still face plenty of difficulties right from the start. Three tricky stages in Albania are followed by the Giro moving to the heel of Italy and the route snaking north. Stage seven sees the first summit finish and two days later there is a mini Strade Bianche on the white, gravel roads of Tuscany. The winner of the maglia rosa will be decided in the Alps, which hosts four of the five hardest mountain stages in the final week and more than 9,000 meters of climbing in the two days before the climax in Rome. The 3,443-kilometer (2,140-mile) route ends on June 1 and includes a homage to the late Pope Francis by passing through an area of the Vatican rarely seen by the general public. ___ AP cycling: in this topic
