The Remco Evenepoel-Primoz Roglic duel
Youthful passion in the face of experience.
Panache in the face of calculation.
This edition of the Tour of Italy should hold an exhilarating duel in store for us between Remco Evenepoel (23), reigning world champion and winner of the last Vuelta, on the one hand, and Primoz Roglic (33) on the other. , accustomed - much more than his young opponent - to playing for the "win" on a Grand Tour as evidenced by his three consecutive successes in the Tour of Spain between 2019 and 2021. These two big favorites of the event - who have the opportunity to put their names on the list of winners of the race – have already faced each other this season.
It was on the Tour of Catalonia, at the end of March.
And it was the Slovenian who emerged victorious from this breathtaking confrontation, not without difficulty.
But the Belgian is in great shape.
Read alsoCycling: masterful, Remco Evenepoel doubles the bet on Liège-Bastogne-Liège
And to bring the pink jersey back to Rome on May 28, the Soudal-Quick Step rider - who is now able to "equal play
in the climbs
" with that of the Jumbo-Visma - intends to rely on the counters -the watch.
"
It's the recipe for beating him, even if he is Olympic champion (in title) (...) so it will not be easy
", he explained before the start, scheduled for this Saturday in Fossacesia Marina.
For his part, the former ski jumper, who claims to age "
like good wine
", feels "
wiser
" and "
more experienced
" than before.
Enough to do better than his third place acquired in 2019 during his last participation?
Response within the next three weeks.
Read alsoGiro: at 33, Roglic says he is aging “like good wine”
The “der” by Thibaut Pinot
"
I skipped school in college to watch the stages on TV
", confided Thibaut Pinot in 2019 in the afterword to the book
Giro
written by Pierre Carrey.
This Saturday, the Franc-Comtois - who has announced his retirement at the end of the season - will start his last Tour of Italy, the Grand Tour "
which he prefers
".
And for the latter in the "pink madness", the one who has had a special relationship with Italian races since his youth - he won the Tour de la Vallée d'Aoste in the hopes ranks in 2009, which had allowed to turn professional - does not intend to do extras.
Even if he is unable to fight for the final victory, he is advancing with great ambitions.
Read alsoRoutes, regulations, winners... Everything you need to know about the Tour of Italy 2023
“
I think I can fight every day for the general classification and why not go for a stage victory one day.
One does not prevent the other
, announced before the start the one who had seen his dreams of a podium in the general classification fly away in 2018 during the penultimate stage.
Where I take the most pleasure is still to be with the favorites of the Giro.
Last year, I was quite frustrated with my Tour de France and my Vuelta where I was not playing the general
.
More specifically, the Aigle de Mélisey, which claims to be at its best level "
since 2020
", believes that a place in the top five in the general classification is possible,
get involved
”.
Finishing on a high note in one of his favorite races is perhaps seeing life in pink for Thibaut Pinot.
Read alsoCycling: "I don't want to do the year too many", explains Thibaut Pinot
A mountainous route
3489.2 kilometers including 70.6 kilometers.
21 steps.
And above all 51,400 meters of elevation gain.
The course of this 2023 edition of the Giro promises to be difficult, even very difficult.
Climbers should have a field day;
the others will have to fight against the many steep slopes that will mark the twenty-one days of racing, and against themselves.
And this will not displease cycling fans who prefer to see the leaders regularly fighting for the general classification rather than witnessing (very) long stages without relief - in every sense of the word - which end in a final sprint, certainly exciting, but without any stake in the race for the pink jersey, the one - more than the others - which arouses the most interest.
Read alsoGiro: the Covid-19 returns to haunt the peloton
Seven stages - including the last time trial, the day before the finish - seem intended for climbers.
And if beautiful climbs will be scattered throughout the three weeks of racing, it is - as often - the last third of the route which will be the most difficult with in particular a finish at Monte Bondone (22.7 kilometers at 6.4% average) during the 16th stage (May 23) and a 19th stage which promises to be daunting with, among other things, the Passo Giau (9.8 kilometers at 9.3% average) and the Passo Tre Croci (8 kilometers at 7 .3%) in the final before an altitude finish at the top of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo (7.1 kilometers at 7.8% average).
Tantalizing.
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