7 Jun 2024

A chance to shine in the Giro Next Gen

Giro Next Gen

From 9th to 16th of June

Just as the Professional structure competed in the Giro d’Italia last May, the under-23 team will now have the opportunity to do the same in the Giro Next Gen. It will be one of the most prestigious races in which the team will participate this season. The team will be looking for opportunities to shine in the ‘corsa rosa’.

Six riders will take part in the race. Dario Giuliano and Samuel Novak, both first year riders in the category, will be at the start in Aosta. Gabriele Raccagni, who already knows the race from last year, and Luca Bagnara, Martín Barrero and Antonio González, cyclists with experience in international races, but who will discover this new event, will also travel with the team.

The race will leave no one indifferent with its route where the presence of the mountains will be abundant, but where there will also be opportunities for all types of cyclists. The first day will be an individual time trial that will open the race in Aosta, in the north of the transalpine country. 8.8 kilometres will be the distance to be covered by the riders in the first stage. In the second stage, the medium mountains will be present, but without presenting any big mountainous difficulties. The last climb will be crowned eight kilometres from the finish. The first two stages will be a great way to introduce the riders to the race before the third day and the first mountain finish. Pian della Mussa with its 19.4 kilometres and an average gradient of 5.3% will welcome the riders after a stage with several climbs in its intermediate zone. The fourth stage will, a priori, give the riders a breath. 139 kilometres with a small climb will be the menu of the day.

The fifth stage is by far the easiest stage of the race. The day will start from Bergamo and will cover 138 kilometres with a climb in the middle of the stage. The sixth stage will see the fight for the pink jersey resume. After the start on flat terrain, the stage will become more complicated and the riders will have to overcome three passes and reach the summit of Fosse (8.9km-8.8%) where the stage will end. The battle for the general classification will continue for another day on stage seven. After an almost flat 180 kilometres, the riders will reach Zocca (12.1km-4.4%). The eighth and final day of the race will start from Cesena and finish in Forlimpopolili after four laps on a circuit with the ascent of the Bertinoro climb.

Dario Giuliano, Luca Bagnara y Antonio González celebrando la victoria conseguida por el italiano en Portugal

Antonio González shone in a high level race like the Ronde de L’Isard and after taking fourth place in the Volta a Portugal do Futuro, he will be looking to do the same in Italy: ‘I’m very motivated and looking forward to my first Giro U23. I think we have done a great preparation with the Volta a Portugal and we arrive here in good shape to do a nice race where we will fight in every stage. It is a real luxury to race with the best level of the world in the most important race of the category. It’s time to enjoy and take advantage of the opportunity”.

Luca Bagnara followed the same schedule as Antonio in preparation for the Giro Next Gen. He won in Portugal and will be looking to continue the good run the team is going through: ‘We are in a good condition for the start of the Giro because we have worked well and with good morale after the good Volta a Portugal. The startlist will be of an absolute level so it will be difficult, but we are a very competitive team and therefore we will probably be able to do well. I feel good, but we will go day by day because it is a long and hard race”.

Rafael Díaz Justo will manage the team in the Giro: ‘We are coming with a group of very young riders. From my point of view it is the most important race in the world. The best riders in the world come together here with their respective structures. 80% of them are professional cyclists, although in the under-23 category, and that makes this race top at world level. The race is more balanced than other years with the initial time trial, three mountain finishes and days that can be resolved by a sprint or a breakaway reaching the finish line ahead of the pack”. Díaz Justo also explains that it was not easy to choose six riders from the squad for the Giro: ‘When we were deciding the line-up for the Giro we had to think about compensating the available riders to coincide with the races in Spain. It was a difficult decision, but we have chosen the six riders based on their form. Luca is in good form and I think that Raccagni and the youngsters Novak and Giuliano will also stand out. Without ruling out Antonio and Martin. Martin has been a little bit off due to illness, but the references we have in general from all the riders are good”. The team has the ambition to fight every day and this is how Díaz Justo explains it: ‘Our idea is being around the top 10, although we don’t have a clear leader. I don’t rule anyone out, but we will go day by day, without a clear objective and fighting each stage individually. The race itself will tell us where we will have to move”.

Stage 1: Aosta – Aosta C.R.I (8,8km)