Giro d’Italia: Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic ‘on another level’ but Eurosport’s Robbie McEwen warns of upset

Eurosport expert Robbie McEwen has warned hotshots Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic of a potential Giro d’Italia upset.

Evenepoel, 23, is favourite to claim his second Grand Tour victory after he won the Vuelta a Espana last year, but is expected to be in an intense battle with rival Roglic.

McEwen, who competed in the Giro d’Italia 10 times, believes the pair are “on another level” to the rest of the field, but must be cautious of other riders who will be waiting to capitalise on any mistakes.

“I certainly think that they’re on another level – both Remco and Roglic,” McEwen said when asked if it will be a two-horse race. “It’s become obvious through the first part of this season, particularly in Catalonia.

“The way it was just those two battling but there’s a saying that when two dogs are fighting over a bone, there’s an opportunity for a third one to come in and steal it.

“Both of those riders – although they seem physically on another level to the rest – there’s so much that can happen, particularly in a Grand Tour.

“Any race [something can happen], of course, but particularly in the Grand Tours [across] three and a half weeks like the Giro.”

McEwen pointed out that both riders have had trouble in similar races in the past and that the other riders will pile the pressure on to produce a shock.

“Roglic has had his problems in races in the past, closing them out and staying on his bike,” McEwen said. “He’s been able to do it at the Vuelta but the Tour has been another story.

“Even last year at the Vuelta he fell off again. So that’s his major hurdle. And everybody else will know that as well. So I think other teams will always be looking to keep the pressure on Roglic, and be really testing his skills to the maximum.

“Not that you want somebody to crash. But it’s a way to keep someone under pressure day after day after day until maybe they crack. Look back over the last few years also with Evenepoel.

“He’s had his problems. He crashed in Lombardia. He broke his pelvis. He crashed in the Giro last time he rode it and was out after I think it was like nine days. So all is not lost for the rest.”

McEwen added: “I think there’s the possibility of those two riders looking so much at each other, that maybe they can take their eye off another and this is how [Richard] Carapaz won the Giro a few years ago.”

With a potential shake-up on the cards in McEwen’s eyes, he was asked who he could see upsetting the odds and be in with a shot at glory.

“Maybe a little bit more of an obvious one fighting for the podium is Aleksandr Vlasov,” McEwen said. “But I’ll be interested to see how Lennard Kamna from Bora can go because he’s the co-leader of Bora and he was in part responsible for how they won the Giro last year with Jai Hindley.

“Also I like Jack Haig for the battle in the top six. Other than that, I’ll be really interested to see how Tao Geoghegan Hart does. He’s already won the Giro in the Covid year 2020.

“We’ve seen in history that riders who start a little bit slower, a little bit more under the radar at the start of the Giro but can be really strong in the last 10 days, are often the ones fighting for the podium.

“So [Thymen] Arensman is a really interesting one. I don’t know exactly how he’s going at the moment. But he’s been preparing for this year as far as I know. So I think he’s going to be really good.”

McEwen is enjoying the excitement cycling continues to produce across all classifications, despite Evenepoel and Roglic’s recent dominance.

Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar are some of the names that have contributed to box office moments over the years, and McEwen thinks there’s always another name patiently waiting to rise to stardom.

“Every race is a little bit different,” McEwen said. “It’s been exciting to watch a lot of those guys the way they’ve won. Watching Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert when they win Classics or stages in Grand Tours. But also I think it sets up good battles later, like we saw Tadej Pogacar winning at the Tour de France.

“We were thinking it looks like nobody’s ever going to beat him and then along comes Jonas Vingegaard. You had somebody new.

“History shows us yes, you’ll see the same guys for a number of years because they’re great athletes, but there’s always somebody new to come in. There’s always surprises happening as well.

“I like watching the current generation of riders like the ones who are winning most of the races. Because there’s always someone coming a little bit closer and a little bit closer. Look just back a couple of years ago, we didn’t have Evenepoel at this level.

“We weren’t talking about him as a favourite to win a Grand Tour. He was just about to ride his first one. So there’ll be someone else coming along soon. We just don’t know who it is.”

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