Cyclist
5 storylines to follow at the Giro d’Italia 2024
After a long winter without Grand Tour racing, the three-week cycling colossi return this May with the men’s Giro d’Italia. Starting with a bang in the Piedmont this weekend on Saturday 4th May, a new Grand Tour cycle brings with it a new field of opportunity for the men’s peloton.
Beyond the hopefuls grappling for the maglia rosa, the fight for individual success, bragging rights and comeback stories are set to capture our collective imaginations throughout the Corsa Rosa. Set amongst the breathtaking playground of the Italian Republic, the 2024 Giro d’Italia will serve us a compelling multitude of narratives.
As the riders gear up for the flag drop on Saturday, we dive into the five most intriguing storylines to follow throughout the 2024 ‘fight for pink’.
Can Biniam Girmay return to winning ways?
Two years ago, Biniam Girmay made history by becoming the first Black rider to ever win a Grand Tour stage. On the roads of Iesi in eastern Italy, it felt as though cycling had turned an important page in its long history.
A projectile Prosecco cork spoiled the party, however, and Girmay’s Giro symphony came to a sobering end. Adorned with an eyepatch, Girmay withdrew from the Giro the following morning. After this back-door exit from the race in 2022, the path to his Giro return in 2024 has been turbulent.
With the expectations of a continent on his shoulders, Girmay’s hotly billed Tour debut in 2023 was met with mixed results. Similarly, his Classics performances have been marred by crashes, concussions and disappointment. The red-hot status he once had seems to have cooled off as the 2022 Giro becomes more of a distant memory.
The Eritrean’s form certainly hasn’t been as strong as it was back in 2022 when he made his rambunctious Grand Tour debut. He is yet to take a UCI WorldTour level win in 2024. Indeed, his only race win of any kind this year came at the very start of the 2024 calendar at the Surf Classic down in Australia.
Returning to the Corsa Rosa in 2024, Girmay is eyeing up stage wins once again. Stages 3 and 4 are suited to the Eritrean who doesn’t mind a hardier approach to the finish. With more thoroughbred sprinters on the start line, Girmay has the potential to shine on these days where the likes of Jakobsen and Merlier could find themselves spat out into the gruppetto.
Girmay’s entourage is ready to take on Italy once again. His devoted fanbase will be easily identifiable with an abundance of Eritrean flags expected on the finishing line of the Intermarché sprinter’s stage objectives.
- A Star is Born: Read our full profile of this Eritrean hopeful
Olav Kooij set for Grand Tour debut
Two years after claiming his first UCI WorldTour level sprint victory, 22-year-old Olav Kooij is poised to make his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia. Touted by commentators as the brightest spark among a strong field of young sprinters, Olav Kooij from South Holland has the chance to chase stage wins and the maglia ciclamino at his maiden Giro.
Kooij is already among the top tier of fast-men. In 2024 alone, he has claimed three WorldTour stage wins at both Paris-Nice and the sprinter’s brawl of the UAE Tour. At the latter, he fended off Tim Merlier, Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenwegen en route to victory.
Christophe Laporte will support Kooij in the leadouts in lieu of an injured Wout van Aert. Visma-Lease a Bike is in need of some good news this year after an attritional spring spent in the emergency room. Perhaps Kooij could get the ball rolling for the Grand Tour juggernauts.
Kooij has said that he is ‘ready for the challenge’ at the 2024 Giro. After penning an extended contract at the Dutch super-team last winter, Kooij could quickly become one of Visma-Lease a Bike’s new Grand Tour headliners.
Pogačar’s grand plans for 2024
Tadej Pogačar‘s calendar has been booked out for the upcoming months. In an ambitious programme, the Slovenian leviathan will target both the Tour and the Giro. It’s a bold objective for the Giro debutant.
You will be exhausted of Giro-Tour stats and anecdotes by the end of this year’s race. However, the important date to bear in mind here is 1998. That is the last time a rider (Marco Pantani) took both titles in the same season.
The Giro-Tour objective has been long in the pipeline for Tadej Pogačar. Announced towards the end of 2023, with murmurs brewing since the end of 2021, Pogačar’s Grand Tour conquest is just another step towards his coronation as the greatest cyclist of all time.
‘It’s a race I’ve dreamed of doing for a long time and it feels like now that the time is right to go for it,’ Pogačar told the press ahead of Thursday’s team presentation in Turin. ‘I raced in Italy a lot as an amateur and it has been an important country in my journey as a cyclist. For sure it is one of my favourite places to ride a bike and I also love the culture and of course the food. I hope we can make this month a special one,’ he added.
The Giro parcours suits Pogačar’s capabilities down to a tee. A punchy Grande Partenza, a gravel stage and an uphill time-trial make for a perfect opening week for him. A lighter final week of racing and a reduced amount of climbing this year will cater towards the Giro-Tour bid. If the Slovenian forages enough time in the opening half of the race, the latter half of the Giro could act as a tune-up for the Tour de France rather than an attritional defence of the maglia rosa.
A wounded field of competitors at the Tour de France is a convenient windfall for Pogačar. A bolstered team will support him there, with the aid of Grand Tour titans João Almeida, Adam Yates and Juan Ayuso. The Tour presents a trickier challenge, but the Giro is a necessary evil.
- Re-visit Pogačar’s Monument victories with our definitive ranking of Pogi’s Classic rides.
Quintana’s bad-boy comeback
After a year spent in the sin bin, Nairo Quintana returns to the Grand Tour scene at the Giro d’Italia 2024. Two years on from his last Grand Tour – the 2022 Tour de France, a race in which he was disqualified – Quintana has found himself back at his old home of Movistar.
Winner of this race a decade ago, Quintana’s return has been the subject of widespread speculation. The Colombian has said himself that he wants to go for mountain stages rather than a GC dig.
Judging by recent results, the legs might not be ready for a GC push anyway. He has been incognito since returning to the Spanish outfit, with only one top ten on his books so far in 2024.
Currently the only former winner of the Trofeo Senza Fine race winner’s trophy on the start line, Quintana will gather a lot of TV time and column inches in this year’s race. A return to the Monte Grappa – where he won a mountain time-trial back in 2014 – is just a small nod to Quintana’s career. A relic of an era of cycling gone by, Quintana has many questions to answer if he’s looking to turn back the clock.
Alaphilippe’s overdue Giro debut
Julian Alaphilippe has competed in eight Grand Tours in his career. He has won seven stages, donned the yellow jersey and taken a polka-dot jersey in this time. It’s understandable why the Giro has often been sidelined in his schedule.
Starting alongside a team focussed around breakaways and a competitive sprint train on behalf of Tim Merlier, Alaphilippe’s maiden Giro will be as laissez-faire as it comes. There will be an ample amount of freedom to chase his own glory at the Giro and claim a stage win – thus, completing the Grand Tour trilogy.
The spring Classics and a fruitful Tour de Romandie imply some uptake in form ahead of the Giro. Punchy finishes on stages 6, 9 and 12 could provide a solid canvas for a rejuvenated Alaphilippe to bring back his swashbuckling style to the Grand Tour stage.
Don’t forget, Alaphilippe is embroiled in an evolving transfer race between Cofidis, TotalEnergies and his current Soudal squad. The Giro will offer an important battleground for his signature next year.
Pogačar, Ben O’Connor, Geraint Thomas and Romain Bardet: who are the favourites to win the Trofeo Senza Fine this year? Read our analysis of the favourites, and how they rank going into the first Grand Tour of the year.
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