26/04/2024

Vincenzo Nibali casts warning to Tadej Pogacar ahead of Giro d'Italia: "You have to be perfect for 21 days, 20 isn’t enough"

If there's one rider who in modern history has mastered the art of winning the Giro d'Italia, it is Vincenzo Nibali. The Shark of Messina won two Giri and finished in the podium of four more, and he warns Tadej Pogacar to not underate the competition as in this race anything can happen.

“He’s going to have to sweat it out for overall victory, in a Grand Tour, nothing ever truly comes easy. You have to be perfect for 21 days, 20 isn’t enough," Nibali said in words to Gazzetta dello Sport. "Now, I don't wish any misfortune on Tadej, of course not. But speaking in general, a single bad day, which can happen to anyone, can change a lot of things.

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The words of Nibali are logical, and often the Giro throws brutal challenges in the form of very cold weather, technical descents and unfortunately - as was the case last year - crashes and illnesses taking out many GC contenders. The UAE Team Emirates rider will start the race as the man to beat, but the race is all but won until the very last day.

"For example, you can get a day of extreme cold at the Giro, and at that point, it’s just about getting yourself to the finish line. Even the great champions, in general, always have their difficulties at the Giro," Nibali says. "They make the difference by managing the negative moments without cracking.”

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Pogacar has comfortably raced in the good temperatures found at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España quite well. The Giro is a different beast, but it can also be argued that he is a rider who fancies the bad weather. However, Nibali believes that rivals - such as Geraint Thomas, Ben O'Connor and Romain Bardet - absolutely have the opportunity to win this Grand Tour.

“You have to get the notion that he’s unbeatable out of your head, even if it seems that way. In a Grand Tour, you can never have everything under your control. To Tadej's rivals, I’d say this: I see it being very difficult in a head-to-head, so you need to be inventive," he advises. "And the route and general context of the Giro can help inventiveness, more so than at the Tour.”