Aleksandr Vlasov ready to take on pressure of BORA's title defense at Giro d'Italia - "I realize that the bar is set very high"

Aleksandr Vlasov sits in fifth position at the current UCI ranking despite some bad luck in 2022, however he is still in the eyes of many yet to prove himself in the Grand Tours. 2023 will be a golden opportunity as he leads BORA - hansgrohe into a title defense at the Giro d'Italia.

“My big goal is the Giro d'Italia. I realize that the bar is set very high. We are defending a Giro title, but we will start with a strong team. We will do our very bes," the Russian told the media in a recent press conference. “Hindley's overall victory might put some extra pressure on me, but I don't feel that way myself. It's just another edition of the Giro."

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Vlasov has ridden the Giro twice, finishing it in 4th place in 2021 as Egan Bernal took the win. This year he prioritized the Tour de France, arriving in Paris in 5th position after a consistent race - this was despite him talking about how he hadn't reached his best form, fruit of a Covid-19 infection just weeks before the start.

Still, in 2022 Vlasov won the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and the Tour de Romandie. He took third positions at Itzulia Basque Country and Flèche Wallone and fourth at the UAE Tour. Vlasov could've finished higher in the standings, rivaling Jonas Vingegaard, if he hadn't abandoned the Tour de Suisse whilst leading the race (due to Covid-19 infection) and Paris-Nice where he abandoned the race in the final day whilst sitting in 7th (due to a crash).

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"I love the race, but also the country of Italy," Vlasov continued, as he looks to take up a key role for the German team. "I lived and raced there for several years, and was already the best in the Giro d'Italia for promises (under-23, ed.). In addition, the course of the upcoming Giro suits me well, with several time trials and many mountain stages.”

As for contenders, he (like several other riders) had an obvious mention: “It's a good race for Evenepoel, with all those time trial kilometers. He has already shown this year that he can win a Grand Tour. Of course we have to keep an eye on him and come up with something to release him”

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The 26-year old also revealed his calendar for the first part of the season. He will begin the year at the start of February with a title defense attempt at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. Then, Vlasov will race Stade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico, go in an altitude training camp, and race the Tour of the Alps and Liège-Bastogne-Liège before the Grande Partenza in Abbruzo.

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