The Giro d'Italia looks set for the best general classification battle for years as Primož Roglič has been confirmed to lead Jumbo Visma in the Italian Grand Tour. While the Slovenia takes on the Giro, his Danish team mate Jonas Vingegaard will go to the Tour de France to defend his title.
Roglič's return to the Giro means he will do battle again with world champion and Vuelta winner Remco Evenepoel. Their last clash ended before the big finale after Roglič crashed out of the Vuelta, leaving Evenepoel to win the race with relative ease. Already also confirmed for the Giro are Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-hansgrohe) and Ireland's Eddie Dunbar, who will lead his new team, Jayco AlUla, at the three-week race and ride for GC.
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News that Roglič will ride the Giro and Vingegaard will, as expected, ride the Tour was confirmed at the official unveiling today of the Jumbo Visma team line-up for 2023. Roglič, who has won the Vuelta three times, last rode the Giro in 2019, winning two TT stages and holding the race lead for five days, on his way to 3rd overall. He made his Grand Tour debut in that race back in 2016, finishing 58th and winning the stage 9 TT.
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"A race I love but haven't won yet", Roglič said of the Giro. "I'm still recovering from surgery, but by May, I hope to be in good shape. In any case, I will do everything I can to achieve that."
The 33-year-old had surgery on his shoulder in October to stop it dislocating. He dislocated it again in a crash in the Tour de France and later abandoned the race due to his injuries. While he returned to racing at La Vuelta and was getting stronger each day, challenging leader Evenepoel, he crashed at the end of stage 16 and did not start the following day.
His abandoning the Vuelta brought his season to a close and brought the battle for GC victory to a frustrating end. Many fans were hoping to see him attacking Evenepoel in what was expected to be an exciting finale to the race.
While Evenepoel was dominant in the Vuelta he gained his time while Roglič was weakened early in the event. He was then dropped twice by Roglič on the hardest climbs as the race progressed. However, Roglič's crash meant fans never saw him at his best trying to dislodged Evenepoel from leader's jersey, though that battle should now unfold at next year's Giro.
