Tadej Pogacar: ‘Pure talent’ of Slovenian makes Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double ‘possible’ – Alberto Contador

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) can win the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same season and could even attempt a miraculous Grand Tour treble, says cycling legend Alberto Contador.

Few general classification riders have been brave enough to attempt both races in the same season, with barely a month typically between the Giro finishing and the Tour starting. Marco Pantani was the last man to land the Giro-Tour double in 1998, with only seven managing it across history.

But if one rider is capable of joining that elite club, it is Pogacar. Although he has seen Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) dethrone him at the Tour, he remains the peloton’s most electric rider – capable of tearing it up in both the Spring Classics and Grand Tours.

Speaking to Eurosport ahead of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, widely seen as the start of the cycling season proper, Contador said “pure talent” Pogacar could win the Giro and Tour in 2024.

“I think it is possible to win the Tour de France after doing the Giro. If we are talking about a rider like Pogacar or a rider like Vingegaard, I do think it is possible,” Contador said.

“Would it perhaps be a better option to prepare specifically for the Tour de France? Maybe, yes.

“But we are talking about Tadej Pogacar, who is pure talent. We are talking about a rider who has planned and calculated how many days he will compete at the start of the season in order to not overdo it.

“Perhaps thinking about having a season where a lot revolves around the Giro and the Tour de France, before obviously looking towards the World Championships and the Olympic Games which I am sure he will want to do.”

Only 10 riders have managed to win two Grand Tours in a calendar year – an elite group Contador is part of. No one has claimed all three.

So could Pogacar also be tempted to ride the Vuelta a Espana in August and shoot for a historic treble, if he does the Giro-Tour double?

“Who knows… if he wins the double, maybe he would go for the Vuelta as well,” added Contador.

“So I do think he can win, and I don’t think it is a way of taking away pressure when it comes to the Tour.”

Contador, one of just two riders to win each Grand Tour twice along with French legend Bernard Hinault, also played down suggestions Pogacar would only target the general classification at either the Giro or the Tour.

“I think that Pogacar going for the double, Giro and Tour, I understand it perfectly,” he said.

“Tadej is a rider who enjoys himself on the bike. Tadej is a rider who has already achieved incredible victories despite his young age. He has a number of wins in extremely prestigious races.

“I think it’s normal that he wants to give himself a different challenge, and of course the Giro is a big challenge coupled with the fact that he will try and win the Tour de France.

“Because when a rider like Tadej Pogacar is on the start line of the Tour de France, he is there with the clear objective of winning.”

The Giro runs from May 4-26, followed by the Tour from June 29-July 21.