"Having him here and not having the legs to contest with the best ones, that is not fair" - BORA - hansgrohe explain Sam Welsford's Giro d'Italia omission

With an all-star sprint field at the 2024 Giro d'Italia, one of the notable names missing is Sam Welsford. With the Aussie missing out on selection, BORA - hansgrohe have instead opted for Danny van Poppel as their sprint hope.

"It was definitely a tough one for him. Of course, it’s a pity, but having him here and not having the legs to contest with the best ones, that is not fair on him,” explains BORA - hansgrohe sports director, Bernard Eisel in conversation with GCN about Welsford's omission from the opening Grand Tour of the season. “You can always hope for a surprise, but you would be picking on him, newspapers would be picking on him, and television, [asking] why, why, why..."

“It wasn’t an easy decision - it was a very, very, very tough one - but at some time when you look at the numbers and you look at the progression, and setting somebody up with hope, then you’re making a big mistake, because you will be unhappy with his performance, he will be unhappy. Why do this to him?” Eisel questions. “The power is there, it’s just replicating the power after efforts. The Giro might look like there are nine potential sprints but there’s a lot of climbing in between. If you’re not in the best shape you can be for a Grand Tour, with the sprint field we have here, it’s a tricky one. Leading up, it wasn’t [the case] that he showed us he is there, then it’s just not fair.”

Speaking ahead of stage 3, which looks to give the sprinters their first shot at glory, Eisel insists that in van Poppel, BORA - hansgrohe still have a viable contender to win from the bunch. “Oh he can win sprints. He can win a stage here,” says the sports director convincingly. "You can’t jeopardise the whole race programme of everyone because one [rider] is out. With the big sprinters, we’ll see how the race unfolds over the three weeks, who’s still there towards the end, how he goes. But he’s pretty eager, his form is good, and he wants to show it.”

As mentioned though, the list of sprinters at the 2024 Giro d'Italia is an incredibly impressive one. The likes of Tim Merlier, Olav Kooij, Caleb Ewan, Kaden Groves and Fabio Jakobsen are present, plus the likes of Biniam Girmay, Phil Bauhaus, Alberto Dainese and Juan Sebastian Molano among others, meaning van Poppel will have to win from a very competitive field.

“We can’t go out there and say Danny is now the number one sprinter,” Eisel admits. “We know if it comes down to a one-on-one with Tim Merlier, I guess Tim Merlier is a bit faster. We are not naive. We have to look where really are our chances, and focus on some of the harder days."