Giro d'Italia organisers RCS Sport have confirmed that two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar will be making his debut at the Italian Grand Tour next May.
The announcement was made on Sunday afternoon with a video posted to social media. The video shows Pogačar making his way through an airport terminal and into a taxi before saying "Andiamo" (let's go – Ed.) to the camera.
Pogačar had previously expressed his desire to take on the race, which runs from May 4-26, though it had been thought to be incompatible with his main season goal of the Tour de France (June 29-July 21). The Giro-Tour double hasn't been achieved since Marco Pantani's triumphs in 1998.
25-year-old Pogačar is already set to head to Italy next spring with Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Milan-San Remo all likely to fill out his March calendar following a season debut in Portugal with the Figueira Champions Classic (February 10) and Volta ao Algarve (February 14-18).
This off-season, Pogačar has spoken about the difficulties of reconciling his long list of racing goals with the realities of the calendar. In October he told Cyclingnews that. "I still don't know anything about my [2024] programme. The heart says to do everything, but you cannot do everything."
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport in late November, he downplayed the possibility of racing the Giro, saying that "I could have too many obligations to include the Giro" while naming his main goals of the 2024 season as the Tour de France, Paris Olympic Games, and the UCI World Championships in Zürich.
However, it seems that he and his UAE Team Emirates team have now found a way to work a three-week block of racing, no less, into his schedule for the upcoming season.
Pogačar has experienced great success at RCS Sport races – including three wins at Il Lombardia, two at Tirreno-Adriatico, and one apiece at the UAE Tour and Strade Bianche. Now, he'll head to Piemonte next May for the Grande Partenza on what will be his first Giro d'Italia participation.
With just over four weeks lying between the end of the race in Rome and the Grand Départ of the Tour in Tuscany, Pogačar's challenge next year will be to recreate a Grand Tour feat not seen in the peloton for 26 years.
Pantani's Giro-Tour double had previously been achieved by Fausto Coppi (twice), Jacques Anquetil (once), Eddy Merckx (twice), Bernard Hinault (twice) and Miguel Indurain (twice).
The feat has since remained unachievable, with even the likes of Alberto Contador (winner and fifth in 2015) and Chris Froome (winner and third in 2018) not able close to adding their names to the list of legends who have won both races.
Pogačar will have to contend with Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) at the Giro next May, while the Tour will see him take on reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), as well as Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe).
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), and Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla) are among the other major names set to join Pogačar and Thomas at the Giro, with the Belgian reportedly riding for GC at a Grand Tour for the first time in his career.
Break the internet ♾💗👋 @TamauPogi @TeamEmiratesUAE #Giro #GirodItalia @MiAirports pic.twitter.com/eFIxlLy6L5December 17, 2023
