"Without Tadej Pogacar, I expect a Giro that is a little more open" - Antonio Tiberi believes there is 'space to create something' at Giro d'Italia

Antonio Tiberi finished fifth at last year's Giro d'Italia and won the youth classification, something he aims to do once again this year. However the Bahrain - Victorious doesn't hold himself back to only achieve what he did last year, he wants to improve on it after a spring where he showed to be amongst the strongest of the Giro contenders.

"The preparation has been the same. Last year I fought for the victory of the Tour of the Alps until the end, and then I grew during the Giro," Tiberi told TuttoBiciWeb. "This year, unfortunately, we didn't have the Tour of the Alps (due to gastrointestinal issues forcing him to abandon, ed.), but the hope is to have a Corsa Rosa along the same lines as last year."

His form should be relatively intact despite the issue that emerged in Italy a couple of weeks ago, but the race is also featuring very heavy mountain stages towards the third week and so it may not be a problem to enter the Corsa Rosa with less racing in the legs. Neither Juan Ayuso or Primoz Roglic have raced since the Volta a Catalunya, as a prime example, and have focused exclusively on training during the month of April.

Back in March, Tiberi was third behind Juan Ayuso and Filippo Ganna at Tirreno-Adriatico, a performance that he believes sets up his ambitions for the Giro nicely. "I didn't get that far from and, as I said, I still wasn't the best possible version of myself. In the last few weeks, I hope to have narrowed that gap between me and him a little more and, on my side, there is also the fact that as the days go by, in a Grand Tour, I usually feel better and better."

The Italian is not afraid to say that he wants to improve on what he's already done last year ,and is leading a team featuring Pello Bilbao and Damiano Caruso who are tremendously experienced in this race. "I believe that when you have the awareness of what you are doing, if you are convinced of the goodness of your work, then there is nothing wrong with wanting to set your goals. If I finished fifth in the Giro last year, I think it's normal to want to try and improve, maybe even get a podium".

Tiberi is looking forward to a race that will be more open and provide more space to the GC riders than last year's dominating ride from the World Champion: "Without Tadej Pogacar, I expect a Giro that is a little more open and also a little more tactical since there is no rider clearly stronger than the others on paper. Of course, there are favourites like Roglič and Ayuso, but in 21 days of racing, anything can happen and the rankings can change from one moment to the next. I think there is space to create something.

"I think the brute force will have to come out in the third week. Before that, there will certainly be some skirmishes, maybe already in the Tirana time trial on the second day, even though it's short and technical, and then with the Strade Bianche of Siena and some other tricky finishes," he anticipates. "But the games will certainly take place in the final days. Before that, I expect a slightly more tactical Giro."