There is no logical alternative to Tadej Pogačar for the Giro d'Italia GC, says WorldTour pro-turned Eurosport commentator Philippe Gilbert.
As well as being physically supreme, he is tactically astute and his team is stronger than ever, says Gilbert of the Slovenian superstar.
The only way to try to overcome him, argued Gilbert, was with the right team and the right weather.
"The only way to beat him is to have a really strong team like [Jumbo-] Visma had [in last two Tours de France] when they beat him with different cards, and also really hot weather for a few days – then he can be less strong, like he was on the Galibier."
Pogačar lost the yellow jersey on the Galibier stage in 2022, in what was searing heat.
"But since then his team is also much stronger, so he can rely on them. That is why I really see him not losing it," Gilbert adds.
It's certainly a dominance of sorts, but Pogačar's Eddy Merckx-like style makes it far from boring.
"Even if he has dominance on the bunch, it's still attractive to see," said the former Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders winner, speaking ahead of the Italian Tour which begins in Venaria Reale on Sunday, with a 136km road stage to Turin.
"It's not like the era of Chris Froome, it was no panache, it was not nice to see those years. But today, when you see Pogačar racing, it's another level, you know, it's really spectacular. It's almost like bringing cycling back to the Sixties and Seventies, when Eddy Merckx, when all those guys went a long way from the finish and won with two, three, four minutes. We're almost back in this time of cycling, you know."
Barring illness or accident, it was almost impossible to see anyone else winning the race overall, he said.
"I think it's logical to say that he's going to win," Gilbert said. Asked whether anyone could stop him, he added: "It's still a long way, three weeks' racing is still a long way – we saw it in the past that anything can happen. You can be sick, you can crash… but apart from that I don't see him losing for any physical reasons. Tactically he is also quite smart, he doesn't do a lot of mistakes."
Given that he also hopes to win the Tour de France, Gilbert predicted that Pogačar would choose one stage to go all-in to open a gap at the top of the GC and then defend.
"Once you get two or three minutes on second [place], it's almost easier, I would say. Because the others will also protect their spot.
"I think he will use the TTs to gain time, and try to win stages. But I think if I was him I would go full on the first chance, and from this moment just try to protect," Gilbert said.
Thankfully for Pogačar's fellow competitors, there are classifications other than the GC to fight for.
