"If Pogacar decides to ride the Giro, he'd be very welcome" - New Giro boss Guercilena rolls out red carpet for UAE leader and cycling's big stars
Cycling
The 2027 Giro d'Italia route was presented on Tuesday as a mountain feast with six summit finishes is likely to see one of the most difficult editions of the race take place. New RCS Race Director Luca Guercilena has invited Tadej Pogacar to come see for himself next May.
The Corsa Rosa parcours includes a stage in Slovenia, seven mountain stages and a mountain time trial, culminating in brutal final week that features a fearsome queen stage - two ascents of the mighty Mortirolo and a passage of the legendary Passo Gavia in the middle for good measure.
Although UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader Tadej Pogacar has already expressed his desire to ride a Tour-Vuelta double, Guercilena claims that the Slovenian would be welcomed with open arms to the Giro should he change his mind.
“Tadej is the star of the sport at the moment. Of course we'd love to see him at the Giro,” Guercilena said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“The stage in Slovenia has been included for the Slovenian cycling fans. Slovenia is producing some great riders at the moment, so it seems right to visit Slovenia in 2027. If Pogacar decides to ride the Giro, he'd be very welcome.”
Giro hopes to entice some big names to Grand Tour
The route announcement has been met by a largely positive reception, with analysts claiming that Jonas Vingegaard could be tempted to defend his Maglia Rosa while Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas are also touted as possibilities to start after previously expressing their desire to ride the Grand Tour.
“We hope to attract some of the biggest names in the peloton.
"We hope that iconic stages like the one that climbs the Mortirolo twice and the Gavia, then the finish on the Zoncolan, inspire the riders and want to have legendary stages like that on their palmares.”
All-in-all, the former Lidl Trek manager believes that he's crafted a strong route, offering brutal mountain stages for differences to be made, and balancing the other stages to provide challenges for the overall contenders throughout.
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A 'balanced' Giro route
“After years of studying the Giro route to try to understand how to win it as a team manager, now I'm using my experience to understand how to make it a better race.
“The stages to Sassotetto, the mountain time trial and then the finish at Monte Livata are key stages that will force riders to go deep and so mean any differences in ability will be revealed in the final week. This Giro route needs careful energy management during the whole race for whoever hopes to win it.”
He added: “I think it's a very balanced route, between the hardest mountain stages and the 'easier' stages. That means all the riders have a chance to gain time on their GC rivals at some point in the race."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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