👀 Are Tadej Pogačar & UAE Team Emirates winning TOO MUCH at the Giro d’Italia 🇮🇹 | The Gruppetto

On this week’s edition of The Gruppetto, Rob Hatch runs through a thrilling and frantic opening week to the Giro d’Italia, and asks Robbie McEwen and Sean Kelly whether Tadej Pogačar is winning too much? Joanna Rowsell also joins the party to preview the track events at the upcoming Olympic Games and picks a couple of riders as her ‘one’s to watch’ at Paris 2024!

Timestamps:
Introduction – 00:00.
Giro d’Italia Week 1 Highlights – 0:30
Itzulia Basque Country Women Highlights – 6:30
Sean Kelly & Robbie McEwen on the Giro – 7:17
Joanna Rowsell talks Track Cycling at Paris 2024 – 14:37
What’s coming up on Eurosport Cycling – 23:16

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B Jordan everybody it’s rest day time at the J Italia finally you might be missing the racing today but fear not despite the washing being in and about half an hour before we’ got to get it in the dryer we’re here with the group Shan Kelly Robbie MCU and Joe rousson will be along to dissect a brilliant first week of the Jalia so let’s remind you what’s happened there and elsewhere in the world of cycling so this week we’ve been at Euros sport HQ again watching things from London to the world let’s start in Italy before passing through Spain and Hungary as well let’s pick up where we left off last week with tare poacha in pink after his aopa moment on day two the third stage was supposed to provide the opening opportunity for the sprinters that after they’d had to sit tight and suffer during the first two days Tim merer did what he always does at the beginning of a grand tour win the opening Sprint Salvo he’d had to wait until the latest of pogy’s Adventures was over this time in the company of garant Thomas they gate crashed Mikel Horner’s party only to leave the host at home they made the end of the night but the sprinters would be laughing the loudest when last orders were called the following day looked like a chance to double up for Med lead a race over the lioran hills down to the coast then hitting the roads ridden each spring in The Classy Chima the stage would end in Andora no not that one so no Chessa or podo but straight after the Capo Mele again there was a late attack this time from filipo GH but the winner of the mini Sano was big Milan by this time the Italian had moved into the points Jersey the maiai Camino and he was looking to add to his lead the Riders were heading south and that’s what happened to the breakaways advantage soon after leaving genua with ala the kerning Keen to put rivals in trouble and give their own Sprinter Kaden Groves a much better shot that move seemed to backfire however as another fresher better quality break got away in the final part of the race able to hold off the advancing pelan who’ left it too late and who weren’t always in agreement as to who should chase the great composer jao Pini was born in Luca and in his City 100 years after his death it was operatic from Ben Manar and the break the Frenchman taking kof first win of the season and my in what style the bunch then moved on Under the Tuscan Sun gravel roads were on the menu and plenty were hungry a long fight for the Breakaway ensued and eventually julan alaf Filip pelo Sanchez and Luke Platt found themselves with a chance to win the stage and in the case of the latter perhaps even dream of a pink jersey the nerves behind kept the Gap too low for that and upon arrival imraan alip sprinted but nowadays he has competition and a new name joined the Grand Tour stage winners Club Sanchez on jro debut delivering Spain a first jeto stage win in 5 years the already tired legs took on the clock on stage seven the longest TT test of the tour of Italy in almost a decade and a great chance for top ganana to go box off as again the Italian Star Julie set the fastest time but there was no Hollywood ending here a nasty Hill placed at the end of the 40 km route saw two top GC Riders changed the Outlook of their races both Danny Martinez and pachad improved their split Times by burning it up the climb the former was good enough to move above Thomas in the standings to Second Place the latter put in another stratospheric performance not only adding a couple of minutes to his already strong overall lead but also shocking G as he sat in the hot seat seemingly like the rest of us thinking he was about to win 12 terrific minutes on the climb from pogy and a second stage win was his now if the malar roza was already a good fit for the leader then after prati Deo he might want to book an appointment with a tailor for that perfect fit a stage finish he knew well from a previous tyo adriatico stage win was upon him and many wondered if the break would be allowed to go but after a Furious start the big group up the road was always well controlled by UAE team Emirates Val stora and steinhauser were the GC dangers but there would be no Northern Light flash of pink in their Direction POG kept that pink the pelan in check as well and he also kept the late attackers at Bay a back-to-back set of stage wins meaning the Slovenian was looking Untouchable so to the last stage of the week and a final push before the rest day once again the weather was spectacular but the start we’ve been expecting failed to materialize just a couple of riders went up the road on the longest day so far there’d be Spice in the finale however fueled by a chance to upset the sprinters and some typically Neapolitan chaos tough perhaps dangerous roads with the possibility of disaster luring around most Corners again there would be an alaf pack as some sprinters were going out the back his small group was passed on the last Climb by Jonathan naris who’ won the opening stage in Turin and until the final few meters the Ecuadorian was still ahead here it took everybody even the maroza to pull the inos Grenadier had his heart broken by those fast man remaining and ol AF Koy getting there ahead of Milan to win his first ran to a stage a nice moment for Vima lisik who had a very tough time of it recently at the end of the first block of racing T poacha leads Danny Martinez by 2 minutes and 40 seconds gine Thomas is third at just under 3 minutes bachar also leads the mountains classification Keon ER Brooks is the best young Rider and Thea CH lamino remains on the back of [Music] Milan racing continued in Spain after the welta for the women’s pelan and Demi fing was at it yet again in the bass country she and her Dutch teammate Misha bald shared the stages between them the European Champion taking the opening couple of days before following added the ulia to her palarz by bossing the final day to San Sebastian and pedaling away with another GC prize elsewhere Mark cavish was one of the stage winners at the tour of Hungary with Sam wellsford and wal Pauls the other Riders tasting success the headliner of this particular Spring Festival however was tort NES the young Belgian cross star winning two stages and taking his first overall success as Pro another good moment for leel Tre who were having quite the season what a week of racing it was eh absolutely incredible and afterwards I caught up with Shan Kelly and Robbie mun to talk everything Jalia well what a first week of the Jalia it’s been as we’ve just seen I’m joining the gretto by two experts and exponents of it well one at either end of his career maybe certainly not in the world desp back then Robbie MC knows what it’s all about I’m wearing the M as I said before I’m in the last place Robbie have you seen the jro this week because we have witnessed some racing haven’t we I’m going to say I’ve I’ve worn lots of different jerseys in gredos over the years but this jro you say that the end of the first week that’s how tough the jro is the first week takes nine days but uh we’ve seen just a do Pacha just doing what he wants when he wants and he just has come to the four in so many different situations just showing his versatility and his strength and I think it’s demoralizing a few it might be Sean we’ve been really enjoyed this week I think haven’t we because we’ve seen a route that we were maybe a bit worried about but every day’s been interesting well it’s been a a great year and jro can be disappointing first week um you can see some days where it’s a bit boring but hasn’t been that at all it’s been really exciting and uh yeah as we talked about pogach are of course dominating but end of the first week there’s a lot of road to be done and I know he’s in uh in a solid position there but uh you just never know what can happen to jro can always drop surprises and Sean apart from poacher in the GC who’s caught your eye well I think uh the sprinters uh you know looked like maybe Milan was going to dominate because we see when he won that stage um um but it’s been uh a difficult one for the sprinters and um you know the uh the finals in this race had made it really interesting those little times in the end the Caples it’s caused problems and Riders you know going and looking like they could St take stage victories but just been denied in the very end so really exciting uh final of stages and uh it’s going to rock on and Robbie we’ve just been in the commentary box us three together one of the most exciting finishes I think we’ve ever been in the same room room for you know I think we can expect much more of that certainly in your department in the Sprints I don’t think I’ve ever seen a field like this not recently anyway it’s an incredibly strong Sprint field like really a lot of depth so so many sprinters came to the jro because so many flat stages on offer but as we have seen really varied stages I mean that’s right across the whole nine opening stages of this race the sprinters have had their chances and as Shan said we thought Milan would dominate he’s been the most consistent but it’s been one a piece for Milan for merer and for Olaf Koy the others empty-handed at the moment but to see the attacking of Jonathan Naz got stage one almost got Stage Nine pogacha has dominated the others but in the end I I think it’s a pretty good balance because pogacha has only W 33% of the stages so far on offer only he says week two what are we looking forward to the most because it’s a bit of a mixed bag in terms of what kind of stages we have gc’s not on hold yet because straight after the rest there there’s an upill finish as well well we’ve got a time trial coming up at the end of the week and then the Alps Lots over six days that could still happen well the days to come in the second week of course you know there they’re always uh difficult stages and uh yeah we could see surprises but uh you know looking at pogar the way he’s riding the way he’s just dominating in those uphill finishes uh it’s going to be an interesting one if he can last you know what he’s doing uh the first week the second week and the third week um there’s going to be more opportunities to break with of course because now the guys are further down the GC classification but will they really get grey in start dominating all the stages within from the UAE team that is a question you know we’ve seen that already will it continue that way uh but yeah there’s a big fight the podium second third the top five it’s very very close and there’s going to be a great battle for the next two weeks yeah you talked about being greedy there before I let you go off for the rest there both of you Robbie first are they winning too much should they be sharing it around and again this isn’t necessarily my view because I think I’m on record this week are saying I love the way patar is racing but there is a valid argument and a question to to pose to people are they winning too much should be they giving a bit more of a sh of the pie out I don’t think they’ve gone overboard just yet as I said 33% of the stages have gone to Pacha he’s won three out of nine I don’t think they’re being overly greedy yet I I don’t mind the way they’re racing they’re racing to Win Racing to win what’s on offer but they haven’t won all of them uh as time goes on though I think as the race settles into the pattern that we’re accustomed to and with the stages coming up next week with a time trial an opportunity for gunner to win his first race of the Season maybe and his first time trial in a fair while for the rest couple of Sprint stages which I think will be more regular sort of Sprints so that depth of Sprint field will get to enjoy a a bit more of a straightforward and and sort of textbook Sprint battles for the rest I think Pacha is going to start letting breakaways stay off the front and we’ll see those intriguing battles and get some two for ones we get a race for the stage Victory off the front and maybe a GC battle behind which is always good value are they winning too much because you and I had this conversation earlier on in the week on commentary and for anybody who wasn’t watching by the way sha I’m sure many of you know but those who didn’t used to win quite a lot of bik races especially in the 1980s when he was the number one Rider in the world and you told me on commentary that you were hearing voices in the pelan you were told directly that you were winning too much come on Kelly leave something else for the others what’s your view on that because you’ve been in that situation well I’m happy that uh Robbie’s not a a Taxman because 2% he said it’s not a lot it is a lot when you look at the first week of racing uh when it should be like for more the punchers more the sprinters you would expect you know to the balance to fall in that direction but you know three three stages uh it’s a lot and uh we’re going into the terrain as well where it’s going to be more for the uh the GC men if the brakes doesn’t succeed so yes it’s a it’s a one where you know they have to back off a bit and as you say rob you know during my time when some of the race when you were winning a lot some of the teams and the directors say to you look you have to leave a bit for the others and I’m sure that’s something is in the mind of uh a lot of the teams there who are denied maybe because of the way UE are riding um so yeah they’ll have to look at that and uh i’ not be surprised if it comes to a situation where you know you need a little bit help from the others but uee are so strong they’re so dominant and pogar he’s so powerful in the end unless you get a stage where it’s windy ET or something like that there’s nowhere they can really get get them back for what they’re doing and the punishment they’re giv them now earlier in the week and when she got back from Spain I was lucky enough to sit down with Joanna rousel to talk through the wela feminina who have you on the goo and what was coming up at the track of the Olympic Games so here we are back at Euros sport headquarters Joe’s back from Spain I’m in the middle of the Jiro we’ve decided to have a chat together and get together finally it’s been quite a while as how’s it going really good thank you I think we were last together at the track Champions League yes so yeah been a while but busy Seasons all around it has been and you’ve been out of the world feminine first of all what was it like it looked brilliant on the Telly it was a really brilliant week so they’ve really sort of stepped it up it’s the first Grand Tour of the women’s season it’s 8 days long uh the organization around it was just brilliant we had three Mountain Top finishes and just seeing like the amount like the scale of the operation to get everybody up the mountain the TV trucks and you know all the production around that the all the finished Gantry all the all the barriers like this the sheer sort of volume of people involved in it which is so nice um that we’ve now got really like three women’s ground tours on the calendar properly are we going to see the cuz it’s been a lot of talk about how it’s cramped and crammed in like last year do you think we’re going to see these dates stick now because it’s the Welter first then we’ve got the Jero then the tour do you think that is the order that’s set now excellent question one for much debate I I love how to France F of V Swift follows on from the men’s to of France I think that works really well we’ve currently got the women’s Jero during the men’s to of France I think that’s tricky I like where the vter is currently I’d like I think it’s a nice um time year to be going to Spain to be racing your bike um you know after you’ve had all the spring Classics uh so though we did have some quite cold days out there but um I like it it does obviously coincide with the last weekend of the men the first weekend of the men’s year last weekend of the women’s Welter but I think that’s okay I think it’s sort of gone down quite well and it’s part of a series of races in Spain so there’s uh one this weekend there’s buros next weekend so there’s like sort of three big stage races happening in Spain so for the teams to all go out there bring all their you know their buses and and everything it logistically I think it works quite well as well from a selfish point of view I really enjoy watching it because it for me it was just before the Geo and I had a bit of a free week so I watch quite a lot of it normally with all these clashes at the minute it’s not always easy to watch all the racing as you were just saying so I really enjoyed it I thought fing was fantastic nice to see Voss winning a stage as well some real standout performances weren’t there yeah two stage wins for Voss uh one of them was in more of a normal Bunch Sprints but that day the first Sprint that she won that the road just kicked up a little bit towards the finish the sort of road that just takes a little bit of your speed off and I was thinking this has got foser and all over it thankfully she delivered uh the other time she won it was quite a kick up from 500 meters to go like I’d say quite a climb and again it was one of those questions like is it too hard for Voss like what I should never ask that question of course it’s not to half of boss you never ever write her off so two stage WIS for her but what was really interesting was Demi voling so she came into this with no wins so far this season huge contrast to her 23 season lots of rumors about transfers and would she be staying at SD works and they hadn’t renewed her contract and they had for Capi and for viz and that’s going to affect a ryer like that of course that’s going to affect a ryer but then she won the first Mountaintop finish was a second category climb she won the won the stage that day and sort of really put the rumors to bed that she perhaps wasn’t on the best form like she was on flying form or she took that red jersey on stage five I think that was amazing for demi fing and of course it came off the back of that massive deal she signed with the sportsware giant Nike it’s been a little while hasn’t it since any bike rider was sponsored by such a big company like that yeah so um R and Danny row um back in the day uh was sponsored by them but yeah in terms of you know women’s cycling that they haven’t really invested in in the sport and they’re such a huge Global brand so for them to invest in Demi voling as you know she she’s obviously really high profile in terms of women’s road racing but that is such a boost for women’s cycling and just sort of globally where stands in the space of women’s sports that’s a huge boost that a brand like that are investing in her I wonder if that’s going to affect where she goes next season because it’s been one of the bits of Gossip all the way through the spring hasn’t it and you wonder again has it affected or has it affected the team I mean it’s been a wonderful spring anyway aside from all that leel Trek versus St Works a bit of the others in there as well we saw big victory for Canyon and casan neia dma didn’t we Vos has been winning the odd race as well um but in terms of where she ends up next season this is the big story isn’t it in cycling at the minute who is Demi ferin going to sign for that is the big that is the big story there’s been a lot of rumors about fdj uh of course the only writer that to have beaten voling last week at the VTA feminina was aita musique who rites for that team so very interesting sort of how you know how these moves take place another interesting thing when she finished the final stage she lifted her bike across the line and she got of her bike lift that up in the air there’s rumors that the sponsor the bike sponsor specializ are staying with her so to me that celebration is that was that what that meant I don’t know um but very interesting to see what happens and I love that we’ve got this gossip around the women’s side of the sport you know people always gossip on the men’s side who’s going where and it really shows the level that we’re at in terms of the women’s pelaton that people people love this gossip it is big news of course it’s big news and you know everyone’s talking about it and we look forward to seeing where Demi goes yeah give us all the stories if you’ve heard anything if youve seone at an airport put it down in the comments ments below where is Demi fering going next season we want to know um moving on I know you’ve been watching a little bit of the goo as well trackies are doing well aren’t they they are so I loved uh Jonathan Milan’s stage win Ghana had attacked conone led him out that’s three or four of the Italian men’s team Pursuit squads and again I watched that stage like later I didn’t watch it live said off social media and I remember thinking when that happened like I wonder if anybody’s noticed that’s three out of four of the Italian men’s team Pursuit Squad and I went of course if noticed and um yeah Olympic year is slightly different and of course a lot of the guys that will be competing on the track in Paris but also be competing on the road and the jerro seems to be the place to be for the trackies and Benjamin tomama as well well talking of the trackies the Olympics are coming up lots of stories bubbling in around that as well I imagine yeah so for men’s team Pursuit defending Champions are the Italians I’m really looking forward to seeing how the French do men and women with it being home Olympic Games for them both teams have been really improving rapidly uh and for any track fans you’ll have heard of Katy archal uh but if you haven’t been following just a bit just a bit if you haven’t been playing paying quite as close attention the final Nations cup she was the final qualifying event for Paris was in April and she took three gold medals there out in Canada so um potential you know we’re waiting to hear on selection but potentially three events in Paris for her very exciting well Lots coming up at the Olympics and this is a special time isn’t it you’ve been at a home Olympics you mentioned the French athlet what are we now just getting there this is May end of July start of August what’s the feeling two or 3 months before there must be sort of both in training and out of training because you start to hear and see the people get excited what is the feeling is there pressure is it excitement is it both a bit of both it will be on everybody’s radar it because it only comes around once every four years I know we’ve got a three year cycle because of Co but you know normally it’s so rare and then having at home games for the French Riders you know that would probably never happen again in their careers so it is it is huge it does change things I mean for the better like it’s good thing like pressure is a privilege you know it’s it’s a really exciting nice thing to have on the horizon but I think it would be in the back of a lot of riders Minds like you know I’m in this bike race and I want to win this bike race now but I’m also this is part of my process for the summer so yeah a mix of mentality but definitely a good one where can we hear you next then I will be here for verat Burgos so that is my next event so continuing commentating in Spain Women’s World Tour stays in Spain for the the third stage race in May so very very busy month of May uh in Spain for the Women’s World Tour peleton uh then got the women’s tour of Britain which is coming up in June early June so back on the calendar now with that well it’ be great to hear you again cannot wait to listen in the wos next week I hope you be watching the J as well any predictions it’s hard to see past the eventual winner now I but but then you know last year everything changed is it so right up until that final time trial so it’s a week race we we’ll see there’s danger around every corner in the jail we know that well I cannot wait to catch up with you again come back to the greto month or two I want to know a bit more about how those Olympic hopes are going how France are looking how the British team’s looking as well and we’ll reconvene soon thanks Jo nice to see you thank you so lucky to have such great presence in the Jed Italia Grand Tour winners Olympic gold medalists green jersey winners we’ve been spoiled this week haven’t we there’s much more to come and spoil you this week on Euros sport Discovery plus as well if you’re watching the US you can also watch the Jalia streaming on Max we start again on Tuesday an upill finish then we go to a couple of flat stages on the way you got to give the Sprinter something however we know that the breakaways will be heart fought at this goo as well we then go to a time trial at the weekend and then the mighty Mountains will continue to make their decision and be the judge jury maybe even executioner at this stage on some G challenges there’s plenty to come at the J we head up into the mighty mountains of course and a reminder it is live and On Demand on Eurosport Discovery plus and if you’re in the US on Max I’ll be back again with a group talk next week until then though keep following us on @ eurosports cycling YouTube channel we’re on Instagram and Tik Tok as well and let us know Below in the comments what you think of the show who you’d like to see and your predictions for this week’s Jalia stages for now out from me and all the team enjoy your rest day we’ll see you next week goodbye [Music]