Ineos Grenadiers are ready to take on a rampant Tadej Pogačar at this year’s Giro d’Italia, a rider “capable of winning every stage” at the race, according to sports director Zak Dempster.
The Italian Grand Tour begins this Saturday in Turin, with recent Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Pogačar the favourite for overall victory. Looking to challenge him will be last year’s runner-up, Geraint Thomas, the Ineos Grenadiers leader.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly at the Tour of the Alps, Thomas’s sports director Dempster said it has been hard to ignore “the elephant in the room, the young kid from Slovenia that smashes everyone” in the team’s Giro preparations.
“He’s a guy that likes winning and likes racing, and he’ll go after anything,” Dempster said of Pogačar. “He’s probably capable of winning every stage in the Giro in a certain way, even the sprint stages, he could get creative.
“I think he’ll go after it at the start. That first stage suits him really well. It’s punchy, he can get over that and probably already get a lead on GC if he is really, really on top of his form. I think it’ll be interesting to see how [UAE Team Emirates] are able to manage that, because it finishes in Rome [three weeks later], not in Turin.”
At last year’s race, Thomas held the pink jersey from stage 10 until the penultimate day, when his 26-second lead was overturned in the time trial by Primož Roglič, then of Jumbo-Visma.
This year, the Welshman has shared training rides with Pogačar, and expects a tough battle in Italy. “He’s obviously an amazing bike rider, isn’t he?” Thomas told Cycling Weekly. “He’s started super well this year and he’s going to be as strong as ever. I’ll just race the race and we’ll see, day by day, and try and take any opportunities that come.”
For Ineos Grenadiers, this will likely mean racing more aggressively, rather than defending a lead like last year.
“We definitely have to keep our eyes open to race expansively, let’s say,” Dempster said. “If you look at the way we rode the Giro last year, when G almost won it, it probably is an approach that wouldn’t work going against Tadej. He’s the elephant in the room, so he’s definitely a consideration in our tactic, but we’re there to do our race and take the absolute maximum from the Giro.”
What’s the ultimate goal for the team? “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t aim for the top step,” said Dempster bluntly. “It’s complicated, but at the same time, the ambition is definitely to do everything we can to win it.”
