Dilemmas and issues for Giro: will Ganna sprint along? How fast is Ewan? Will Jakobsen’s pilot get his own chance?

Three days before the start of the Giro, there are still many unresolved issues. We made calls to find as many answers as possible. Today: the hot topics among the sprinters.

With 3 sprint victories in the Tour of Turkey, Tobias Lund has quickly established himself in the sprinter’s firmament.

Will the Dane also be allowed to sprint on his own account in the Giro from time to time?

“Tobias will fulfill the role of sprint pilot. He must place Fabio Jakobsen in the best possible position in the bunch sprints,” says Roy Curvers, sports director at Team DSM-Firmenich-PostNL.

“So Sprinting with Fabio is our first plan. But if Fabio falls behind on a climb, Tobias can keep his position in the peloton and we will bring back two other teammates from Fabio.”

That has a double advantage. “On the one hand, Tobias can save his strength and sprint well for Fabio.”

“If Fabio does not return or get into a good position, Tobias can take his own chance.”

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) already has 6 Giro stages on his list of honors: 5 time trials and 1 stage from the break.

But the tall Italian also dares to compete in the bunch sprints. Just think of last year’s Vuelta, where he finished 2nd in the sprint three times.

“The focus in this Giro is not only on the 2 time trials,” Ganna tells us. “We’ll see what happens in those 21 stages.”

The mysterious Italian therefore seems to be planning to also animate the Giro in the in-line stages. So keep an eye on the world hour record holder during the flat stages with catches.

For the past 9 months, Caleb Ewan seemed to have disappeared from this planet.

The marriage between the Australian pocket sprinter and Lotto-Dstny broke down last season. Jayco-AlUla threw a lifeline to the prodigal son.

But the first months with his new employer did not go smoothly either. “Caleb got Covid before the Tour Down Under and became ill in the Tirreno, which meant he also missed Milan-San Remo,” sports director Valerio Piva explains.

The big question: will Ewan hold his own against the fastest Giro sprinters?

“Caleb cannot have lost all his sprint qualities in 1 year,” says Piva. “I believe he is still one of the strongest sprinters in the world.”

Treacherous finals in flat stages are in Ewan’s favor.

Valerio Piva (team leader Jayco-AlUla

Piva sees 5 to 6 sprint opportunities for Ewan in the Giro.

“Caleb gets his first chance in the 3rd stage. The 4th stage with the Capo Mele at the end should also suit him like a glove.”

“I also explored the 6th stage with the 3 clay lanes. That final is perfect for Caleb. Finals that are not straight forward and not very flat are always to his advantage.”

The fact that the team believes in Ewan is evident from the addition of Mezgec to the sprint train.

“Mezgec has been part of the Groenewegen sprint train for years. But because, like Caleb, he always sprints in the middle of the pack, we have also added him to the Giro train.”

“Ewan and Mezgec can form a nice and compatible duo in the Giro.”

Cofidis is counting on the fast legs of Stefano Oldani and Stanislaw Aniolkowski in Italy. How do they divide the cake?

“We will look at that day by day, it depends on their condition,” is the answer from sports director Roberto Damiani.

“Stanislaw Aniolkowski is making his debut in a Grand Tour and is a pure sprinter.”

“Stefano Oldani is also someone who can compete in flat bunch sprints, but he is more suited to sprints from a thinned group. There are plenty of bumpy finals that suit him in this Giro.”

Damiani does admit that the many falls have had some impact on Oldani.

“Stefano crashed in the GP la Marseillaise, Milan-Sanremo and twice in the Tour of the Basque Country. If you fall, it automatically has an impact on your self-confidence. But we have confidence in Stefano.”

At Arkéa-B&B they also send 2 sprinters to the Giro: our compatriot Jenthe Biermans and the Dutchman David Dekker.

Their division of roles is fixed. “David Dekker will take care of the flat sprints. I will get my chance in the flat stages with a small hill near the end,” Biermans reveals.

“My first goal is to finish in the top 10 of a stage. Other than that, we will see what is possible. I plan to play for the surprise.”

For Biermans it is his 4th Grand Tour (after 2 Giros and 1 Tour). “And it is the first time that I have been able to really prepare well for a big tour. I am curious where that will take me.”

Would Biermans select himself in the Sporza Giromanager? “I regularly receive messages from friends asking if they should put me on their team.”

“And yes, I have enough self-confidence to select myself,” Biermans winks.

After his breakthrough year in 2022, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) has stagnated somewhat in recent years.

“But his motivation and hunger for this Giro are great,” assures performance coach Aike Visbeek.

“After the Tour of Flanders, Biniam started training at altitude for a month in his home country. In the last few days he had to adjust a few things to his schedule due to physical discomfort. But otherwise everything went perfectly.”

We see 4 to 5 chances for Biniam to win a stage.

Aike Visbeek (Performance manager Intermarché-Wanty)

The big goal with Girmay is to win a stage. “We see 4 to 5 real opportunities in stages with more difficult finals,” Visbeek estimates.

“But I hope he will also participate in the fast sprints.”

In those fast sprints, Girmay was often beaten away in the Tour last year. Have they worked on that within the team?

“Certainly, Biniam is now better prepared for this mentally. In the Tour last year he was overwhelmed by the 15 sprint trains and the hectic pace. Now he can deal with that better.”

Girmay’s lead-out already consists of a lot of horsepower. “Madis Mihkels and Adrien Petit are the last 2 men on the train for Biniam. Dion Smith and debutants Dries De Pooter and Roel van Sintmaartensdijk will also have a role in the lead-out.”

Tudor is celebrating his debut in a Grand Tour and wants to score immediately.

With the fast legs of Alberto Dainese and Marius Maryhofer, there are opportunities for Giro glory, especially in the bunch sprints.

“Alberto Dainese is our designated sprinter,” sports director Bart Leysen makes clear.

“I see 7 to 8 chances for a sprint for him. So I also include the bumpy sprint stages, because Alberto is a sprinter who can climb a mountain.”

The fast Mayrhofer and Trentin have a role to play in the lead-out.

“But if Dainese were to be out, we will choose between Mayrhofer and Trentin to sprint.”

At Israel-Premier Tech they can play with 3 sprinters: Ethan Vernon, Hugo Hofstetter and neo-pro Riley Pickrell.

But because the UCI points are also of vital importance for the ProTeam, they will sometimes sprint with multiple cones.

“With Ethan Vernon we really want to win one of the difficult sprint stages, with a slope at the end,” says sports director René Andrle.

“With Hugo Hofstetter we want to collect as many UCI points as possible in all sprints.”

“Riley Pickrell will get his chance again (together with Hofstetter) in the flatter sprint stages.”

The surprise in Bora-Hansgrohe’s Giro selection is the absence of sprinter Sam Welsford.

“The reason? In the Tour of Turkey it became clear that Sam was struggling with his fitness,” sports director Enrico Gasparotto explains. “That’s why we decided to just… Danny van Poppel as a sprinter to the Giro.”

Remarkable, because Van Poppel has been known in recent years as the best lead-out in the world.

“It is precisely his skills as a lead-out that can be of great use to him in the 3rd, 4th and 5th Giro stage,” thinks Gasparotto.

“In each of those stages there is a slope before the finish. Sprint trains will lose wagons there and certain sprinters will go overboard.”

“That will lead to chaotic sprints. Ideal for Danny, who knows how to position himself at the right time like no other.”

Is the points jersey within Van Poppel’s possibilities? “That’s possible. We’ve already talked about it with Danny. But a lot can happen in 3 weeks.”

Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) makes his baptism of fire in a grand tour in the Giro.

Not with the unfortunate Wout van Aert, but with Christophe Laporte at his side.

Is the European champion sometimes also allowed to drive on his own account? “Christophe will initially be Olav’s sprint pilot,” says sports director Marc Reef.

“That has worked very well in the past. Laporte has also done some good sprint preparations for Wout.”

Until Rome we see 8 sprint opportunities for Olav.

Marc Reef (team leader Visma-Lease a Bike)

With what ambitions does sprint leader Kooij travel to Italy?

“Olav is ready to compete for stage victories,” assures Reef. “There are 8 chances for him until Rome.”

“Stages 3, 4 and 9 present the sprinters with a difficult final. But we do not expect Olav to run into problems in those stages.”