Turin (Italy) (AFP)
For lack of a big favorite, the Giro presents multiple puzzles at the start of its 104th edition, Saturday in Turin, where the first pink jersey will go to a rider.
The route, over 3480 kilometers, favors climbers such as Simon Yates and Egan Bernal.
But, if they have already won a grand tour, the Briton (Vuelta 2018) and the Colombian (Tour de France 2019) are far from presenting all the guarantees to conquer the trophy awarded to the winner on May 30 in front of the Duomo in Milan.
So what can we say about Remco Evenepoel!
The Belgian phenomenon, who ridiculed the opposition until his fall from the Tour of Lombardy on August 15, returns to competition at the Giro, the first grand tour of his career.
With, probably, a cannibalistic appetite, although he claims to be focused above all on the Tokyo Olympics.
Beyond the roving speech, which designates his French teammate Rémi Cavagna and the Italian world champion Filippo Ganna as favorites of the 8.6 km opening time trial along the Po, Evenepoel exudes confidence.
"We did not have time and it was not necessary", affirmed Wednesday the young Belgian (21 years) to explain the absence of race of preparation in his program.
- The incredible challenge of Evenepoel -
Launched into an incredible challenge but without negative pressure on him, Evenepoel teamed up at Deceuninck with the Portuguese Joao Almeida, wearing the pink jersey for 15 days last year and obvious candidate for the podium. In parallel with the duo of climbers from the DSM team, the Australian Jai Hindley (2nd in 2020) and the French Romain Bardet, who at the age of 30 discovered the Giro, its charms and its traps.
Everyone, even the Italian Vincenzo Nibali, who had recovered at the last minute, have a rendezvous with the mountains in this rich edition of eight finishes on the hill or at the top. But, before attacking the Zoncolan (14th stage) and the great passes of the Dolomites (16th stage), the course crosses the peninsula, even if it neglects the heel of the boot this time. It also has 36 kilometers of "sterrato", unpaved paths. Before the final 30-kilometer time trial which proved decisive last year for the benefit of Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart, absent in Turin.
Victorious in two of the last three editions, her Ineos team places their trust in Bernal, one of the jewels of the most powerful formation in the peloton.
The Colombian, back in the country that welcomed him when he arrived in Europe in 2016, discovered the Giro, two years after his late withdrawal and consequently his victory in the Tour.
- The race of all possibilities -
"It will all depend on how my back responds," he says cautiously, without overconfidence but with reasonable optimism.
"I was able to train well at altitude in Colombia".
Bernal, with bib number one, has not raced since mid-March, unlike Yates, who dominated the recent Tour of the Alps.
which acts as a preparation race.
Enough to be named first favorite?
"We are approaching the Giro with even more ambition after our unfortunate exclusion from 2020," admits his boss Brent Copeland, with reference to the collective abandonment last October due to the coronavirus.
But the Briton of the Australian team BikeExchange has paid in his three previous attempts not to overlook adversity, in particular the Spaniard Mikel Landa, at the head of a strong Bahrain team.
The last three editions, confusing like the reversal of the situation succeeded by Briton Chris Froome in 2018, remind us that anything is possible in the Giro, always in touch with history.
This year, the pink race celebrates the 160th anniversary of Italian unity, starting from Turin, the country's first capital.
© 2021 AFP