It's a Giro d'Italia tailor-made for Vingegaard

Two months behind schedule due to diplomatic hitches, here is finally the Line of Business which will start on May 9th fromAlbania. Modern and balanced, as it is fashionable to say, certainly not the toughest race in the world in the most beautiful country in the world, according to repeated slogan: as a year ago, a lively and at the same time welcoming route has been chosen, to whet the appetites of those who, with the Tour in their sights, can hit the mark in Italy without working too hard. See under pogacar, master from the first to the last day in our house before repeating the feat in France with a historic double.

This time the Slovenian Martian will not be there and it is not a surprise: with the binge of classics that awaits him in spring, in May he will have to take a breather in view of the following campaigns (France, but also Vuelta and World Championship). At the Giro he will send his young squire Juan Ayuso, an ambitious Spanish talent who is demanding space: he will have the opportunity to take it. Also certain are the other Slovenian Roglic, winner two years ago in the last stage, the Ecuadorian Carapaz and the Colombian Bernal, also already in the roll of honor, the Frenchman Gaudu and the Spanish veteran Landa, plus Antonio Tiberi, the only cyclist present at yesterday's preview in Rome, who among ours is the most spendable name for the classification. But the real goal is to have the other superstar of stage races at the start, jonas vingegaard, two victories and as many second places at the Tour, never seen on pink screens: with the yes from the Dane, who would show up escorted by his phenomenal teammate Van Aert, the race would still have a sole favourite.

To tempt the illustrious guest, a percorso that from May 9 to June 1 in Rome does not deny itself anything, but does not exaggerate it either: the right amount of time trial in the first part (one in Albania in the heart of Tirana, the other between Lucca and Pisa, 42 kilometers in total), three real uphill finishes (Tagliacozzo the first week, Brentonico and Sestriere the last), other stages in which the toughest mountains (such as San Pellegrino in Alpe and the Mortirolo dedicated to Pantani) are however far from the finish line. There is no lack of dirt roads, but in limited quantities (about thirty kilometers distributed in three sections between Gubbio and Siena, the eight that climb the Colle delle Finestre, chosen as the Cima Coppi), so as not to irritate those who do not like off-road excursions, nor some explosive finales (Matera, Vicenza): if a year ago it seemed like the right terrain for Pogacar, here the route winks at Vingegaard, considered the strongest climber around by his great rival.

On the map, it is a beautiful and possible Giro, despite the return to an elevation gain in line with the Tour (52 thousand meters, almost ten thousand more than the last edition), with short and nervous stages that stimulate the challenge and, consequently, favor the show, assuming that there is someone capable of doing it: Vingegaard, in that case, will decide whether to run it as a dominator like Pogacar or try to win it with the right gas in view of the mission in France. While waiting for the leading actor who is not there, the main sponsor on the race jersey is also missing: negotiations are underway, at the moment there is a distance between demand and offers. Between now and May, there is still time to find the name of the squad.