Tadej Pogacar’s absence leaves Giro d’Italia field wide open – and gives his countryman another shot at glory

The defending champion may be skipping the corsa rosa but his absence leaves the door open to compatriot Primoz Roglic

There will be no repeat of Tadej Pogacar’s masterclass at the 2024 Giro d’Italia. “Pink Pog” will not be back to defend the title he barely worked up a sweat in securing last year, to the dismay/relief (delete as appropriate) of observers and the rest of the cycling world.

But in the absence of cycling’s present, this year’s Giro line-up features its past and future. The out-and-out favourites are Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Primoz Roglic, a four-time Vuelta champion and Giro winner in 2023, who may count himself unlucky to be only the second-best Slovenian cyclist of all time. The 35-year-old will go toe to toe with Pogacar’s disciple, young Spaniard Juan Ayuso, who is searching for his first grand tour title.

A far cry from Pogacar’s procession to Rome last year, the 2025 edition should be a serious fight. The pair did battle in a fascinating Volta a Catalunya in March, with momentum swinging between the two even over the course of individual stages. On the final day, Ayuso looked to have the upper hand but Roglic – never one to underestimate – ultimately won in dominant fashion with a final-stage 20km solo to victory.

But the Giro is quite a different beast. And with two time trials, a plethora of hilly stages, and a trio of difficult mountain stages in the final week, the fight for the title could go right down to the penultimate day.

Victory for Ayuso would underline his status as Pogacar’s second-in-command at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and perhaps fuel a desire, occasionally sensed bubbling under the surface, for a greater share of the limelight than he is awarded at the super-team. For Roglic, this would prove to all his younger competitors – the likes of ex-teammate Vingegaard, Pogacar, and Remco Evenepoel – that he’s very much still a player in this game.

Beyond the two front-runners, this Giro is shaping up to be one of its most open editions in some time. UAE Team Emirates-XRG have a second card to play in Adam Yates, a super-domestique and a man with grand tour pedigree himself, having finished third in the Tour de France in 2023.

Bahrain-Victorious have home hopeful Antonio Tiberi, who impressed last year, finishing fifth. Visma-Lease a Bike have winter signing Simon Yates, who won the Vuelta in 2018 and moved for another shot at grand tour glory, as well as Wout van Aert, an all-terrain machine who was in fine form during the spring classics, although a win eluded him. Frenchman Romain Bardet may not be a serious contender for the title but will certainly hope for a good showing at his final grand tour before his retirement from road racing.

Then there’s Tom Pidcock. His Q36.5 squad have been granted a wildcard for the Giro – no doubt a direct result of his star power – and the Brit has had an excellent spring to kickstart life with the team.

This is the 25-year-old’s first grand tour post-Ineos and offers him a fresh start. He’ll be the undisputed leader, and while his ProTour outfit doesn’t have the same calibre as some of the other squads, the team has looked revitalised since he joined over the winter.

Primoz Roglic is the rider to beat at this year’s Giro d’Italia (AFP/Getty)

The Olympic mountain bike champion, Pidcock has proved himself capable on almost all terrain and, as such, has a decision to make on how he attacks this race. Q36.5 may not be able to support a full-on tilt at the general classification and the maglia rosa, but a number of early hilly stages certainly suit him and a top 10 placing at least looks within his grasp. It seems feasible that the team may make their decision on what he should target, whether it be stage-hunting or a full GC campaign, as the race goes on.

And what of Pidcock’s former team? Ineos Grenadiers have selected an intriguing line-up, mostly consisting of common-or-garden domestiques, solid if not spectacular. It feels a squad largely built around the GC challenge of Thymen Arensman, a second-tier three-week racer who could be well positioned to strike if either of the favourites show signs of weakness. He looked to capitulate early in last year’s corsa rosa, losing four minutes in the opening few days, before resurrecting himself and building an admirable challenge in the final week to finish sixth for the second year in a row.

Egan Bernal won Ineos’s last grand tour at the Giro in 2021 (Getty)

The Ineos squad also leaves possible room for Egan Bernal, a sparkling talent who likely could have rivalled Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in recent years had he not been on the mend from a hideous, life-threatening crash in early 2022.

The Colombian has shown flashes of his early brilliance this year, winning both the road race and time trial national titles and impressing at Clasica Jaen before being sidelined with a collarbone fracture.

A return to the form that saw him win the 2021 Giro – Ineos’s last grand tour title – feels unlikely, but his presence gives the team options. The other Ineos rider of note is 21-year-old British talent Josh Tarling, a time-trial specialist and all-round engine, and one to watch for breakaways and possible stage wins.