Pogacar will compete in the Giro d'Italia with the 2024 Paris Olympics in his sights. GETTY IMAGES


Tadej Pogacar will race the Giro d'Italia. This was announced by the Slovenian rider, who is aiming for a double by winning both the Italian race and the Tour de France.

Pogacar had already speculated about the possibility of competing in both races, and the Italian race will be his first. He has finally decided to try his luck in 2024. It is clear that this will be a very different way of preparing for the French race, as he will arrive with many more days of competition and greater fatigue, but it is a challenge that he has agreed with his team, the UAE Emirates Team.

Pogacar will be running the Giro d'Italia for the first time after four participations in the Tour de France. GETTY IMAGES
Pogacar will be running the Giro d'Italia for the first time after four participations in the Tour de France. GETTY IMAGES



Some cyclists have tried it, such as Chris Froome in 2018, who won the Giro d'Italia and finished third in the Tour, Tom Dumoulin, who finished second in both races in the same edition, or Alberto Contador in 2015, who succeeded in the Giro d'Italia in 2015 but only managed a top 10 in the Tour, far from winning the French race.

Pogacar's decision comes as a surprise, as a significant part of the season has been focused on being as competitive as possible in the Tour de France, with only a few days of competition before the start of the Grand Boucle. This will be a new way of competing for him. The last four editions have been focused on his fight for victory in France, with a direct confrontation with Jonas Vingeggard. 

Pogacar had put a lot of emphasis on the spring classics such as the Tour of Flanders, the Amstel Gold Race or the Strade Bianche, and with this new approach he will have to make significant adjustments to his efforts.

This year's Giro d'Italia is much less challenging and demanding than previous editions, with much less mountainous terrain and fewer metres of positive climbing. That's not to say it's easy, but it's true that it will be less exhausting, leaving him fresh in July to challenge for victory in the Tour, as he has done in the last four editions, winning two (2020 and 2021) and finishing second in the other two (2022 and 2023). 

He also made his debut in the Vuelta a España in 2019, finishing third on the podium in his debut in a major stage race.