"It is nonsense" - Tadej Pogacar quite unhappy with arguments that Giro is won before it even starts

The Giro d'Italia is 21 stages long and one of the hardest races in professional cycling, but more than ever in modern cycling there is an ultimate favourite that no-one can get around: Tadej Pogacar. However, the Slovenian is not happy with the storm that has been made around him leading up to the race in terms of his favouritism.

“That's shit, and not nice. It is not respectful to the other riders. It's not all just about me and UAE Emirates," Pogacar hit hard in the pre-race press conference, more specifically in words to Wielerflits as well. "There is not that much difference between us and the rest on the big climbs. Everyone is well prepared for this and every team wants to go for the win. In the media, as is often the case, it is bullshit." There is no denying the Slovenian is the main favourite, but often in the past few weeks - and with good justification - there has been little argument to whether someone will be able to be even close to him in the mountains. He has been a level above the competition in all races with hard climbs he's ridden this year, and at the Giro he finds a modest startlist that does not include his main rivals.

"Maybe that's my fault. This year I selected a few competitions for which I had prepared very well. I won, but I just didn't handle my season like most others. They have done more preparatory races to slowly improve their form." Hence, he as shown much more than his expected main rivals such as Geraint Thomas, Romain Bardet and Ben O'Connor. Many also put forward the idea that he will race the Giro more conservatively already thinking of the Tour de France - where he will also aim for the overall win, but the UAE Team Emirates leader does not like to read such comments and finds it disrespectful.

When it comes to his form however, it is quite a simple answer that he gives two days before the Grande Partenza: “Good, I like to train hard. Although I also took some rest periods in between. That's how you get better. When you go from course to course, you can sometimes get tired without even realizing it. For me, this approach, with fewer racing days and more training, works well. You have more structured weeks. But now there is a lot of competition ahead. Mentally I am a little fresher to take on that.”

Hence, Pogacar starts the Giro with his eyes on the pink jersey, and it may not take too long until he sees it. Stage 2 into the Santuario di Oropa already features a difficult mountaintop finish; but the first day of racing itself into Torino will see him as the main favourite as the riders climb 1.5 kilometers at almost 9% almost until the finish line.

"If there is a chance to win and get the pink, then of course you take it. But we also have to be smart," he argues, hinting at a more conservative mindset. Whatever happens, the first days of the race will define the form of the big favourites and will be a chance to send a statement to the rest of the field if he shows the same form he has throughout the entire spring.