Tadej Pogačar finally closed the door on the 2024 Giro d’Italia after arriving home from Rome with the maglia rosa and the Trofeo Infinito in his suitcase. For a few days at least, there’s no racing, no podium ceremonies, no sponsor obligations and no media access.
Pogačar has a week to personally savour his victory and can enjoy some rest and recovery time in Monte Carlo with his partner Urška Žigart.
He is halfway to potentially creating history and winning the Giro-Tour de France double but he only has to start thinking about the Tour from next Monday, when he joins his UAE Team Emirates squad for an altitude camp in Isola 2000 in the Alps.
While Pogačar switches off, the UAE Team Emirates squad will switch focus, from targeting pink to targeting yellow at the Tour de France. Team manager Mauro Gianetti has overseen the Giro-Tour master plan since last summer, focusing the team’s significant financial and human resources on the huge challenge.
“We’re halfway there, now we just need to win the Tour…” Gianetti said with a smile to Cyclingnews and L'Équipe in Italy, admitting that the challenge of the double does sometimes keep him awake at night.
“It’s a big challenge, we knew that from the outset but our attitude is that if you don't try, you cannot achieve anything. This year we set the Giro-Tour double as a goal and that’s what we're working towards.
“Everything has gone to plan so far and so from Tuesday, we’ll start to focus on the Tour de France and completing the double.”
“Tadej is now at the right age to target the Giro-Tour double. And the design of the Giro d'Italia was perfect too, definitely not as hard as other recent editions."
"When we saw the route at the 2024 Giro route presentation, we said: ‘Wow! This is the year to try it.”
Gianetti has spent most of May at the Giro d’Italia, offering a quiet, optimistic but respected presence to his riders and staff. He knows every detail of the Giro-Tour masterplan and senses everything is on track.
“So far, everything is good. Tadej has been amazing. As I think everyone has seen in the last three weeks, he’s in incredibly good shape. That’s because he’s worked so hard and so seriously from the beginning of the season.”
Pogačar has changed coaches, lost some upper body muscle and become leaner, and worked more on his core and flexibility to be more comfortable in the saddle. He has matured as an athlete and as a person.
Defeat at the last two editions of the Tour de France hurt and motivated him to look beyond his natural talent so he could target the Giro-Tour double and take on his ‘big-four’ rivals - Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) - and, for that matter, anyone else.
“We let him work quietly at home this winter but in the right way, specifically for the stage races,” Gianetti explained.
"It was obvious that if he raced the Classics again, he’d have to race more and do different types of training. Instead Tadej focused on preparing for stage races and specifically for the Giro and Tour."
“As part of that we’ve seen an evolution in his body, in his numbers. We’re monitoring all his parameters and everything is good, so far even better than our expectations. That has been amazing to see.”
Making history, joining the greats
Gianetti is Swiss and was not a Grand Tour contender during his own career but he understands the special prestige of winning the Giro d’Italia.
Pogačar initially appeared to struggle with all the clamour and excitement of the Italian tifosi and the demands of wearing the maglia rosa. But as his dominance became obvious and victory more certain, he relaxed more..
“All the big champions have won the Giro, from Coppi to Merckx, Hinault and others. The Tour is the Tour but the Giro is also very important and it’s important for Tadej to understand that and to add the Giro to his palmares."
“If you want to be remembered forever in cycling, then you need to win the Giro, you need to wear the pink jersey and be proud of it. Winning the Giro is important for Tadej, for our team and for the whole of the UAE and our project to promote cycling and healthy living."
Giro d’Italia organisers RCS Sport struck a deal with Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates to ensure his presence at the race. Pogačar dominated the race, stealing much of the spotlight but RCS Sport confirmed to Cyclingnews that they are happy with the return on their considerable investment. Pogačar’s victory entertained the Italian tifosi and gave the race far more global visibility.
“We can all see how much the Italians love the Giro but I think we’ve seen how Tadej helps the Giro go worldwide. He’s not just a very strong rider or an incredible rider, he's an international star,” Gianetti said.
“I think the Giro d’Italia is happy to have Tadej as the winner. He committed to winning the races and stages and he did that. We’re all very happy and proud of him.”
"He’s very calm, that’s always one of his secrets. During the first week he perhaps needed to understand how the Giro works and his key role in this year’s race. But he was very relaxed and confident in the team. When Tadej is feeling good, everything is okay.
“To make that happen, all the team and all the staff stayed very focused throughout the race. They all gave 100%, so that Tadej knows that everything is under control. If everything is under control, he is more relaxed and more successful.
“Now we’ve won the Giro d’Italia, we’re ready to take on the Tour de France.”
