Eurosport commentator Jeroen Vanbelleghem is a big fan of the Giro d'Italia. In the run-up to the first grand tour of the year, the Belgian reviewed chances of GC leaders coming from Benelux, while noting that Tadej Pogacar, bar bad luck, will be unmatched in Italy.
"If Tadej Pogacar doesn't fall or get sick, he will win the Giro," Vanbelleghem is confident in an interview for WielerFlits. "But after Pogacar you have nothing in terms of classification men for a long time and then you have a large group of riders competing for the podium. Perhaps Geraint Thomas is the best among them."
"Cian Uijtdebroeks is one of those riders from that large group of contenders. He already finished eighth in the Vuelta last year, so I am very curious about that. He could finish third, but also eleventh. Those riders behind Pogacar are simply very close to each other in terms of level," Vanbelleghem points out.
"The same applies to Thymen Arensman," Vanbelleghem continues. "He has of course already achieved more than Uijtdebroeks and has a good time trial. So if Arensman ever wants to finish on the podium in a grand tour, this Giro with the two time trials is a great opportunity. So I rate Arensman a little higher than Uijtdebroeks."