📈 A stage not hard for the GC favourites, but potentially too tough for the sprinters, and a huge chance for some attackers to claim success! #GirodItalia | @NamedSport
Damiano Caruso on Tadej Pogacar: "We’re racing with a rider who is going close to being one of the greatest talents of all-time"
CyclingSaturday, 18 May 2024 at 10:47
The Giro d'Italia peloton seems to be finally enjoying some more freedom at the start of the second week as Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates are satisfied with their lead and three stage wins. However, rivals admit that racing in the same peloton as the Slovenian makes it harder for them to aim for results and definitely cuts the amount of opportunities.
“It doesn’t bother me because Pogačar is a talent who has the ability to enjoy himself while he’s racing his bike,” Italian veteran Damiano Caruso said in an interview with Cyclingnews. “And you have to remember that, like in every team, there’s a big staff behind him, and the best way to thank all of them is to win." Hence in the opening week Pogacar won both summit finishes to Oropa and Prati di Tivo, the time-trial, whilst UAE also worked on stage 1 to exhaustion to provide the Slovenian with the opportunity to take the first pink jersey.
It's Pogacar's world and the rest of the Giro peloton is living in it, some could say. “The rest of us just have to watch it, and we don’t need to make a polemic out of it," Caruso argues. But it is not upsetting to the Bahrain - Victorious, who was on the podium in 2021. "We’re racing with a rider who is going close to being one of the greatest talents of all-time."
"We’re in a special historical moment, and we almost have to accept that we’re fortunate to be able to see this athlete in action up close. A lot of people at home would pay just to be close enough to him for a photo. So no, I’m not frustrated, I think what they’re doing is right.”
Compatriot Alessandro De Marchi is a breakaway specialist and is looking to finally add a Giro d'Italia win to his palmarès - after recently winning at the Tour of the Alps. However he admits that Pogacar's presence in the race makes it more difficult for him. “The presence of Pogačar automatically throws the usual strategies out the window, because now you have a maglia rosa who is present in every phase of the race, not only in the mountains."
The 37-year old is a specialist on the hilly days, but nowadays the world's top climbers are also the world's top puncheurs and it makes things difficult for everyone else. “Things have changed with riders like Pogačar, Evenepoel and Van der Poel. This is cycling in 2024.”
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