"If it had been my choice I would have done it two years ago" - Tadej Pogacar admits dream of winning Giro d'Italia

Tadej Pogacar is a fan of Italian racing, this year he has taken wins at Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tre Valli Varesine and Il Lombardia. The big one, the Giro d'Italia, has not seen the Slovenian yet however he admits that he is urging to make his debut at the Corsa Rosa.

Talking to Het Laatste Nieuws in the ongoing UAE Team Emirates training camp in Spain, Pogacar revealed his spring calendar: “After the UAE Tour, I will do the Tirreno-Adriatico and then the Milano-Sanremo. From there I will start racing in the North. I will definitely be at the Tour of Flanders 2023 (April 2nd). After last year's great experience, the Ronde has become a primary goal for me. It will be exciting and I can't wait right now. Before Flanders, I will do the Dwars door Vlaanderen, which I had already tackled last spring. Also, I think I will add one more one-day classic in the region.”

Whilst the team puts a tremendous focus on the Tour de France, Pogacar's schedule is conditioned by the need to prepare for it. The Giro d'Italia has hence not been part of his results sheet up until this year, but it will give him freedom to aim high in the spring classics. He's following a calendar very similar to that of this year.

He is likely skipping Strade Bianche where he took a long solo win this year, and instead adding a race day in the Belgian cobbled classics - likely E3 Saxo Bank Classic or Gent-Wevelgem. He's manifested his desire to win Flandres and has shown the talent this year, so it will have a particular focus. He has not mentioned the Ardennes, but it is likely that he will be racing Liège-Bastogne-Liège in search of a second win there.

He was asked about the Giro however, to which he responded. "As a child it was one of my favorite races. It was the closest to home and the Maglia Rosa is one of the most beautiful symbols that exist," he said. "Actually, I should have been there two years ago, but I'm not the smartest when it comes to making decisions. One day, however, I will be in the Giro d'Italia, perhaps combining it with the Vuelta a España, but it's not the time yet."

Having missed out on the Tour de France win this year, he will be leading UAE once again in 2023 at the Grand Boucle. Besides the very strong climbing team he's had, the likes of Adam Yates and Jay Vine are set to further bolster the block - with Felix Grossschartner, Domen Novak and Tim Wellens all plausible options for domestique work. Meanwhile, the team continues to give both João Almeida and Juan Ayuso the freedom to lead the Giro and Vuelta respectively.

"We will see. Maybe after the Tour we can begin to see what I can still do in the next years, for sure there will be the Giro and again the Vuelta, maybe another Grand Tour in a year. You never know. I would like to do the Giro this year, but the Tour is the priority for me and the team. So we stick to the plan," he continued. 

However, he has sounded very keen on racing the Italian Grand Tour: "It's always nice to do a different race, the pink jersey is really nice and Italy has some of the best racing. If it had been my choice I would have done it two years ago, but I'm not the smartest making decisions."

2023 will likely see another battle between Pogacar and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard. In a climber-focused route however other names could appear. Richard Carapaz, Mikel Landa, David Gaudu, Enric Mas, Egan Bernal and Simon Yates are all riders who have expressed interest in the route.

"You can ride both, but that's really demanding on your body, even if you can win both," he said of a possible Giro-Tour double. "You'd feel so exhausted afterwards you'd finish your career right there," he concluded, jokingly.