Vincenzo Nibali advises Tadej Pogacar against dangers of the Giro: "He must be fully concentrated for all 21 days"

Vincenzo Nibali has won the Giro d'Italia twice, and in 2016 he certainly encountered very difficult days where he lost time to his rivals. More than most, the 'Shark of Messina' knows that at the Giro it is necessary to be open to all scenarios everyday, and he believes that is currently the most important advice for Tadej Pogacar.

“We all know that the Giro is Tadej's first Grand Tour this year and the first Giro of his career. This is why it is important to take care of all the details," Nibali said in words to Marca. "It's true that he doesn't know about this event, but he takes care of all the details perfectly. The fact is that he must be fully concentrated for all 21 days, because any accident can take away his victory. He hasn't already won."

The fact is that the first three stages saw a Pogacar having an overwhelming upper hand over his GC rivals, as expected. The main difficulty could come from himself - avoiding bad days and crashes. Form wise UAE Team Emirates seem to be under control, but as we saw on stage 5 it is not complicated for many big riders to hit the deck which can be race-ending. This is a focus that is necessary and leads to inevitable stress.

"You have to be 100% from the first to the last day, you have to be very strong mentally. Tadej has shown that he is strong, even if he finished second in the Tour after the fall of Liège (in 2023, ed.). He (Geraint Thomas, ed.) has the experience to manage the race and make things difficult for Tadej."

Nibali also talks about the Italian GC riders, but he is not too optimistic about the chances of a top result. “Antonio Tiberi will do well. He aims high and is in good condition. I think Domenico Pozzovivo can finish in the top 10 and look for a stage victory from the breakaway on a day like the one in Livigno... As for Damiano Caruso, a veteran, he can win a stage."

However the home nation does have reasons to celebrate as Jonathan Milan is headlining the flat stages: "Jonathan Milan will fight for the Ciclamino Jersey and can achieve several victories... The Italians always have the ambition to win here. For many it is the number one choice. Andrea Bagioli also has a chance. For the general classification, we don't have many options."