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Two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar will race each the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, plus the Paris Olympics and the World Championships in 2024.
He’ll race a small handful of Spring Classics in preparation, however is not going to defend his Tour of Flanders title.
After race organisers RCS Sport confirmed Pogačar’s presence at the Giro on Sunday afternoon, the Slovenian and his group have introduced the remainder of his deliberate calendar for 2024, which incorporates the Giro-Tour double and a busy summer time of racing.
The 25-year-old will make his Giro d’Italia debut in Could, the place he’s anticipated to chase GC ambitions, after which begin the Tour de France, which begins simply over a month after the final day of the Giro.
“I’m not so younger anymore and I believe I can do two Grand Excursions,” Pogačar advised the media from UAE Crew Emirates’ group camp in Spain on Monday. “I might most likely do it earlier than however now could be a pleasant time to do a brand new problem in my profession.”
Since profitable back-to-back Excursions in 2020 and 2021, Pogačar has been foiled by a dominant Jonas Vingegaard within the final two editions. Regardless of additionally main the group on the Giro, Pogačar is anticipated to go up the Tour group forward of the likes of Juan Ayuso, João Almeida or 2023 third-place finisher Adam Yates, although all three will be a part of Pogačar in France.
Doing each races, Pogačar opens up the opportunity of doing the Giro-Tour double, a feat not achieved in males’s biking since Marco Pantani did it in 1998. Mixed with the World Championships, it may very well be the ‘triple crown’ final achieved by Stephen Roche in 1987.
Nevertheless, it is a massive ask, contemplating Pogačar’s lack of wins in these races in recent times, and never essentially on the forefront of his thoughts.
“I believe all people needs to do the double and it is without doubt one of the hardest issues to attain,” he stated.
“I believe the principle aim from all of the GC riders that already received some Grand Excursions, is to have all three of them. That is one thing to have in your palmarès, so let’s have a look at the way it goes with the Giro and the way it goes with the Tour. Let’s not take into consideration the double, let’s simply go to get pleasure from racing.”
Olympics and Worlds amongst post-Tour targets
From the Tour and its Good finale, Pogačar will race the highway occasions on the Paris Olympics, choice dependent. The time trial takes place simply six days after the final day of the Tour, while the highway race is one other week in a while 3 August.
While his spot within the highway race is kind of sure, Slovenia have solely certified one rider for the boys’s time trial, with each Pogačar and Primož Roglič prone to need to race.
Pogačar will then race the Canadian WorldTour races earlier than focusing on the World Championships in September, which occur in Zurich.
“OIympics are a bit so-so, however in fact World Championships is without doubt one of the foremost objectives for subsequent 12 months,” he stated of his August and September objectives.
That includes a hilly course, the highway race in Zurich is suited to the punchier, Classics-type rider, which the Flanders, Liège and Lombardia-winning Pogačar has proved himself to be. Certainly, after profitable the previous three editions of Il Lombardia, he shall be again once more subsequent October to hunt a fourth straight title.
Stripped-back Classics marketing campaign in Giro build-up
There are many one-day ambitions for Pogačar, then, in 2024, however they are going to be concentrated in the summertime and autumn, quite than the spring.
Because it stands, solely Strade Bianche – which he received in 2022 – and Milan-San Remo – the place he was fourth this 12 months – are on his Spring Classics schedule. Curiously, they won’t sandwich Tirreno-Adriatico, with Pogačar’s solely pre-Giro stage race coming on the Volta a Catalunya in late March.
There shall be no title defence on the Tour of Flanders, the place he triumphed in electrifying vogue this 12 months, changing into solely the third Tour de France winner to win the cobbled Traditional.
Pogačar can even skip two extra Classics he received final 12 months, Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne, in a paired-down Ardennes Classics marketing campaign that’s however nonetheless set to incorporate Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
As a substitute, after driving Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, Pogačar will race the Volta a Catalunya in late March earlier than heading off for altitude coaching.
Because it stands, there isn’t any racing deliberate between the Giro and Tour.
Tadej Pogačar’s 2024 race programme
- Strade Bianche: March 2
- Milan-San Remo: March 16
- Volta a Catalunya: March 18:24
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège: April 21
- Giro d’Italia: Could 4-26
- Tour de France: June 29-July 21
- Olympic Video games time trial: July 27
- Olympic Video games highway race: August 3
- GP Québec: September 13
- GP Montréal: September 15
- World Championships highway race: September 29
- Il Lombardia: October 12
Further reporting from George Poole
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