Vegni challenged Pogačar as he was promoting the course for the 2022 edition of the Italian Grand Tour, also suggesting that it does not make a difference how many times a rider wins the Tour de France as "there’s little else to prove" after the first overall win.
“I don’t think winning the Tour de France three or four times makes much of a difference to a rider’s career. When you win it once, you’ve proved you’re a great rider and there’s little else to prove,” Vegni told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Pogačar has targeted the Tour and the Vuelta a España in past years, his current record in Grand Tours reads third (2019 Vuelta), first (2020 Tour) and first (2021 Tour). He has said that he will one day race the Giro d’Italia, but he is expected to once again defend his yellow jersey in 2022, with the Vuelta as a possible second Grand Tour option.
Chris Froome and Tom Dumoulin were the last riders to make a serious attempt at winning the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same season. Froome won the 2018 Giro, with Dumoulin in second but the Briton was third in the Tour de France, with Dumoulin again finishing second overall behind winner Geraint Thomas.
Just a month’s gap between the two races makes the Giro-Tour double one of the hardest achievements in the sport, Marco Pantani being the last to complete the feat back in 1998.
Vegni, when asked about the possible presence of Pogačar at the 2022 Giro d’Italia, called on the young Slovenian and other riders to rise to the Giro-Tour challenge.
“These days the riders are much more ready to win great races at a young age than for a long time, even when they’re just 23,” said Vegni. “It’s a pity that nobody seems to have the desire to try to win the Giro-Tour double. If I’m not wrong, the last was Pantani. So perhaps it’s time for a rider to add their name to that roll of honour.”
The Giro route isn’t perfectly suited to Pogačar, the Slovenian would probably prefer more time-trialling kilometres on the climbing heavy course on offer in the 2022 edition of the race.
“It’s clear that this is the one of the hardest routes of the Giro d’Italia of the last few years and one with the most metres of climbing while I’ve been involved in the organising of the race,” said Vegni.
“However, it’s also true that the layout of the stages also allows the riders to have their say on every stage, there’s something for everyone. I think there’ll be spectacular racing every day with numerous changes in the race leadership.”
SBS will broadcast the 2022 Giro d'Italia live, free and in HD with all the action from every stage coming direct to your device of choice. SBS On Demand is the place to catch up, with all the highlights, replays and key moments available after each stage.
