Wout van Aert is expected to make his Giro d'Italia debut in 2024, forgoing the Tour de France to instead lead Jumbo-Visma at the Italian Grand Tour and then prepare for the Paris Olympic road race and time trial.
The Dutch team believe that Van Aert can take aim at the top five in the general classification next May, according to a report by La Gazzetta dello Sport. The 2024 Corsa Rosa includes 20% less climbing than in recent years, with the two time trial stages giving Van Aert a chance to gain time on key rivals.
Of cycling's three Grand Tours, Van Aert has only raced the Tour de France, taking on the race five times during his career.
He's set for a change in 2024 with the Giro on his hit list for the season along with the spring Classics, Paris Olympic Games and the Road World Championships in Zürich.
With defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard set to lead Jumbo-Visma at the Tour alongside Vuelta a España winner Sepp Kuss, Van Aert is set to enjoy free rein at the Giro, which runs from May 4-26.
"Wout Van Aert at the 2024 Giro d'Italia is more than just an idea: he wants it," Luca Gialanella, the head of cycling at La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote on Tuesday.
"The only thing missing is an official announcement from the team that will be made at their get together in December. The presentation of the route of the 2024 Tour de France ended any doubts about the decision."
Van Aert had indicated a desire to ride the Giro d'Italia in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport in early October.
"I'd really like to ride but it's not only my decision," he said, indicating team management have the final word. "The first Grand Tour other than the Tour I want to ride is the Giro. I love Italy."
Jumbo-Visma are set to confirm rider targets at their 2024 team presentation on December 22.
The 2024 Giro d'Italia will begin in Piemonte with an opening stage around Turin and a second-day summit finish at Oropa. The Giro d'Italia route has seen an overall reduction in climbing metres compared to 2023 – from 52,000 to 42,000.
At the same time, the race will include a substantial number of time trial kilometres, with a 37.2km test on stage 7 to Perugia and a flat 31km stage a week later in Desenzano del Garda.
The Giro d'Italia ends with several hard days in the mountains but Van Aert has shown his climbing skills before on numerous occasions, notably working for team leaders Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France and winning the double climb of Monte Ventoux from the breakaway in 2021.
Van Aert is expected to ride the Giro in May after a spring built around another attempt at winning the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the two cobbled Monuments which have eluded him so far during his road career.
With the Tour de France not on his schedule in the summer of 2024, Van Aert will be free to prepare at altitude for the Paris Olympics, where he'll ride the time trial (July 27) and road race (August 4).
The remainder of the 29-year-old's summer could see him take on the Vuelta a España (August 17-September 8) before heading to the World Championships in Switzerland at the end of the month, where he'll hope to upgrade on his four silver medals at previous championships.
