Tadej Pogačar has spoken, and when the man who has won four Tour de France titles speaks, people listen. In a recent interview with global cycling media, the world champion made a radical suggestion: “It's always hard to combine the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. I always say that if they switch with Giro, both the Vuelta and Giro would be much better in terms of weather and riders going to each race.”
The switcheroo in the Grand Tour calendar that Pogačar is suggesting makes some logical sense. It’s true that every year, at least one key stage of the Giro d’Italia is forced to be altered due to snow, rain and extreme weather conditions at the tops of mountains making them impassable. Towards the end of the season when the Vuelta rolls around as the last Grand Tour of the year, the temperatures in Spain in August are sky-rocketing, making it one of the most uncomfortable races to ride for many professionals in the current peloton.
From its inaugural race in 1935, and barring a hiatus during the Spanish Civil War and some June editions in the 1940s, the Vuelta was held in April and May until 1995, back when the leader's jersey was yellow and not the maillot rojo. The Spanish Grand Tour regularly collided with the Giro back then which limited the field available at both. The Vuelta's move to its current slot opened up the opportunity for riders to attempt both races or combine them with the Tour. The Giro has kept its May date since its inception.
Cycling, as we know, is usually reluctant to change – it’s a sport steeped in tradition. There have been numerous calls in recent seasons for calendar reforms – the currently-paused One Cycling Project planned for a more streamlined approach with fewer races and a narrative that was easier for fans to follow throughout the season. From finances to logistics, there were a number of reasons why One Cycling was met with road blocks at every corner, but one of the main ones was that many of our sport’s stakeholders believe, unequivocally, in preserving the history and heritage that makes professional cycling so unique.
In response to Pogačar’s comments, the organisers of the Giro d'Italia shut down any debate about the Corsa Rosa swapping dates with the Vuelta, with RCS’s CEO Paolo Bellino telling Cyclingnews: “We're not even going to think about the idea. The Giro d'Italia has a traditional date in May and we don't want to change it. Every Grand Tour has its own history and importance, also thanks to its date in the calendar. The Giro has been held in May for 108 times apart from the COVID-19 pandemic which was a unique moment as we all worked to save the cycling season.”
It’s true that the only time the Giro's calendar slot was changed was due to utterly unavoidable circumstances in 2020, when the pandemic saw the Tour take place at the end of August, the Giro in October with the Vuelta overlapping the Italian Grand Tour by a few days and not concluding until November, 8. UCI President David Lappartient has previously highlighted how this radically different 2020 season showed possible benefits to changes to the traditional race calendar.
However, there are practical problems when it comes to moving the Giro: the race falls on current religious holidays in Italy which allows big audiences to come and watch it, something that the current organisers understandably place a big value on. If it took place in August, many people in Italy are on summer vacations which would lead to issues organising the race in areas which are heavily populated with tourists.
In terms of attracting a strong field of riders to the race, however, the Giro may find that it benefits from a post-Tour de France date in the season. It would mean that the race doesn’t impact Tour preparation like it currently does – right now most riders have to focus exclusively on the Giro to try and win it, unlike the Vuelta which comes at the end of the season and is widely thought of as a type of ‘reparation’ Grand Tour. The flip side to this, though, is those who are preparing for the World Championships at the end of the year – specifically Pogačar, likely wouldn’t come to the Giro if it took place on those new dates because it could be detrimental to preparing for a rainbow jersey defence.
There’s no solution which would keep all stakeholders happy, but the overriding, undeniable issue is that cycling does have an extreme calendar problem. The Grand Tours take up too much time in the calendar to co-exist, and the top talent is always going to be spread too thinly across nine weeks of racing in one season. Like they always have, ASO and the Tour de France have a monopoly and will always be considered as the most prestigious race, which means the Giro and Vuelta are fighting for scraps before and after them. The sport is controlled by economical factors too, which means that creating the highest quality racing isn’t always going to be a priority for stakeholders – there are practical considerations for race organisers which they are forced to prioritise in order for their events to survive. It’s a complicated debate and one that, for all his clout on two wheels, even Tadej Pogačar couldn’t resolve.
