"I don’t want to risk melting him. And if he wins they'd call us greedy" - Mauro Gianetti reassures there are no plans of sending Tadej Pogacar to Vuelta

Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana. The three grand tours every rider dreams of winning at least one. And in 2024, Tadej Pogacar could do impossible and win all three within four months - in a single season. However both the Slovenian phenomenon and his UAE Team Emirates boss Mauro Gianetti continue to confirm that there are currently no plans for the Slovenia to travel to the start of Vuelta in Lisboa on August 17.

"I’m not sending him. It would be too much stress to do a third grand tour with the goal of winning," Gianetti confirmed to Tuttobici reporter. "Sure, if he won he would do something unique, but I have to pay for it in the coming years too. I don’t want to risk melting him. And if I burn him? Then you know, if he were to win they would criticize us saying we are greedy. If it goes badly..."

"As you can see, with what I was telling you, I haven’t been too far. Look, if I were Pogacar at the end of the Tour I would take everything and go on vacation. Never mind the Olympics or the World Championships," nods Mario Cipollini.

But could the normally very ambitious Slovenian force his way through, if he wanted, and try the 'impossible triple'? "And who could stop him? Pogacar is in a position to dictate the law," Cipollini thinks Gianetti would have no choice but to obey if such situation arised. "You have to please a rider like that," is his opinion.