Tadej Pogacar on Maglia Rosa aims: "It was always my goal to ride the Giro. I think now is the perfect time"

For the first time in his storied career, Tadej Pogacar will take on the Giro d'Italia in 2024, looking to add the Maglia Rosa with his two previous Tour de France successes.

"It was always my goal to ride the Giro. I think now is the perfect time," says the 25-year-old, Slovenian leader of UAE Team Emirates in conversation with Eurosport ahead of his season start at the upcoming Strade Bianche on the 2nd of March.

Alberto Contador recently predicted that if Pogacar has a successful performance in his quest to become the first man since the late great Marco Pantani in 1998 and complete a historic Giro d'Italia/Tour de France double, the Vuelta a Espana could also be on the cards. When this possibility was posed to the Slovenian, he wasn't so sure. “Let’s see what’s left in the tank after the Tour.”

Also on the programme for Pogacar in a packed few months, the battle for Olympic gold in Paris and the Rainbow Jersey in Zurich. "The Olympics are the Olympics, that's great. But I'm primarily concentrating on the Giro, the Tour and the World Championships," Pogacar assesses.