As the young guns of cycling gear up for the 2024 Giro d'Italia, the competition for the white jersey is shaping up to be a showcase of fresh talent. With the old guard of Pogacar no longer in the youth category, the field is wide open for a new champion to emerge. So IDLProCycling.com lists all major contenders for the white jersey!
Also read on IDLProCycling.com:
- Preview of the Giro d'Italia
- Favorites general classification (pink jersey)
- Favorites points classification (purple jersey)
- Favorites mountain classification (blue jersey)
- Betting pool tips for the Giro d'Italia
Recent winners of the young rider classification in the Giro d'Italia
2023 Joao Almeida
2022 Juan Pedro López
2021 Egan Bernal
2020 Tao Geoghegan Hart
2019 Miguel Ángel López
2018 Miguel Ángel López
2017 Bob Jungels
2016 Bob Jungels
2015 Fabio Aru
2014 Nairo Quintana
Favorites for the young rider classification in the Giro d'Italia 2024
To compile this list, (former) editors at IDLProCycling.com were asked for their top ten in response to the question: "Who is most likely to win the Giro d'Italia?" Each top ten was assigned points as follows: 12 points for first place, 10 for second place, and then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point respectively. For each rider, the total points received were converted into a percentage of the maximum points possible. This percentage is indicated next to each rider. This helps give a clearer view of how the odds stack up according to IDLProCycling.com!
Magnus Sheffield - INEOS Grenadiers: 8/84 points (9.5%)
In tenth place, we find a grand tour debutant, Magnus Sheffield. This May, under the mentorship of Geraint Thomas, the strong American will experience the highs and lows of the Giro d'Italia, seizing opportunities to shine amidst the grueling challenges. Sheffield is particularly strong in time trials and may well vie for a stage win in one of the two against-the-clock stages.
Sheffield has been knocking on the door especially in time trials for some time, but he is also making strides in tougher classics and smaller stage races. Despite suffering from a string of bad luck, including multiple crashes over the past eighteen months, the team at INEOS Grenadiers is hopeful that Sheffield will maintain his upward trajectory, as highlighted by his sixth-place finish at the Tour of Flanders, during his first three-week stage race.
Davide Piganzoli - Polti-Kometa: 13/84 points (15.4%)
Meanwhile, the smaller Italian teams enter this Giro with some promising climbers. Polti-Kometa is moving forward without last year's leaders, Lorenzo Fortunato and Vincenzo Albanese, but Davide Piganzoli is stepping up as the next major talent. The 21-year-old from San Marino has been making a name for himself in the under-23 circuit for several years and has now permanently moved to the pros.
Piganzoli finished fifth in the 2022 Tour de l'Avenir and achieved third place in that prestigious race last year. This year, he won the Tour of Antalya for Polti-Kometa and finished eighteenth in the Tirreno-Adriatico, after which he prepared for the Giro at altitude and in the Tour of the Alps. In that last preparation race, he finished tenth.
Mauri Vansevenant - Soudal Quick-Step: 20/84 points (23.8%)
The first Belgian on this list is Mauri Vansevenant of Soudal Quick-Step. The farmer's son is starting his third grand tour, in which he will play a free role. In recent weeks, Vansevenant has been notably active in the hill classics, securing a fourth place in the Amstel Gold Race and a sixth place in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
In the Giro d'Italia, he is part of a stage hunter team from Soudal Quick-Step, along with Julian Alaphilippe and Jan Hirt. The Belgian team relies on Tim Merlier for the flat stages, but as soon as the road tilts upwards, Vansevenant is given free rein. This strategy allows him to aim for a higher position in the general classification throughout the race.
Valentin Paret-Peintre - Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale: 25/84 points (29.8%)
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale is having a stellar year with team leader Ben O'Connor, and the Paret-Peintre brothers, Aurélien and Valentin, play crucial roles in this success. The Frenchmen have been guiding their Australian leader through several races, making a name for themselves in the process. Aurélien won the final stage of the Tour of the Alps and placed fifth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, while his younger brother Valentin racked up several impressive finishes.
Early in the season, the lightweight Valentin placed eighth in the Tour Down Under, then helped O'Connor secure second place in the UAE Tour. They prepared for the Tour of the Alps with a high-altitude training camp in Sicily, where O'Connor finished second and the younger Paret-Peintre fourth. This performance confirms that he is likely to be a strong climber in the Giro d'Italia as well.
Giulio Pellizzari - VF Group-Bardiani-CSF: 29/84 points (34.5%)
We've already discussed the young, talented Italians like Davide Piganzoli, but in the same vein, you can include Giulio Pellizzari of VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizane. In fact, our (former) editors rate Pellizzari even slightly higher when it comes to his chances of winning the white youth jersey.
The 20-year-old racer, who has already attracted interest from many major teams, finished second in last year's Tour de l'Avenir. This season he hasn't yet celebrated a victory, but he impressed in the Tour of the Alps. Among the big names, he finished eighth overall, but it was his aggressive riding style that really stood out. We can expect to see more of this in the Giro.
Florian Lipowitz - BORA-hansgrohe: 42/84 points (50.0%)
Florian Lipowitz has more than earned his spot on this list as the revelation of the Tour de Romandie. The 23-year-old German, who joined BORA-hansgrohe at the end of 2022, is known for his ability to generate high power outputs, a talent that he showcased in the latter half of last season. He won the Tour of Czechia and finished fourth in the Tour of Turkey.
Lipowitz only started his season in March this year, but he quickly proved in Romandie that he can compete at the highest level. The German stood out with his dynamic racing style and nearly clinched the overall victory, if not for some tactical hesitations in the final mountain stage. Can he confirm his capabilities in his first grand tour?
Antonio Tiberi - Bahrain Victorious: 53/84 points (63.0%)
In fourth place, we find Italy's hope, Antonio Tiberi. The time trialist shares leadership at Bahrain Victorious with the veteran Damiano Caruso, who finished fourth in last year’s Giro d'Italia. The 22-year-old Tiberi, unlike his teammate, has his whole cycling career ahead of him but feels a strong urge to showcase his talent in this three-week race at the Giro.
So far this season, the Italian has performed well, finishing third in the Tour of the Alps and eighth in the Tour of Catalonia. He hopes to reveal even more of his potential, though he is still facing a real test of his abilities at the highest level.
Luke Plapp - Jayco AlUla: 61/84 points (72.6%)
In the category all-or-nothing, you'll come across types like Luke Plapp. The fast rider from Melbourne is known as a super talent, but as is typical with super talents, it's still uncertain where exactly he will land. Plapp has the engine to go far in a general classification, but it seems he has set his sights primarily on the Olympic Games this season.
With his performance in Paris-Nice, he showed that he can compete at the highest level with the world's best, but things didn't go quite as smoothly in the Tour de Romandie. Starting Saturday, we'll see what the Giro d'Italia will hold for Plapp in his first appearance at 23 years old.
Cian Uijtdebroeks - Visma | Lease a Bike: 71/84 points (84.5%)
Could the fight for the white jersey turn into a Dutch-Belgian rivalry? It's a distinct possibility, with Cian Uijtdebroeks from Visma | Lease a Bike emerging as the main candidate from Belgium. The spirited rider is entering his second major tour, fueled by a strong finish in last year’s Vuelta and aiming for a solid overall classification.
So far this season, Uijtdebroeks has raced three times for Visma | Lease a Bike. In O Gran Camino (fifth) and Tirreno-Adriatico (seventh), he performed well in support of Jonas Vingegaard, after which illness forced him to withdraw from the Tour of Catalonia. He then prepared for the Tour of Italy through altitude training, where Uijtdebroeks will aim to make his mark in the GC.
Thymen Arensman - INEOS Grenadiers: 74/84 points (88.0%)
If there’s one man on this list who knows how to perform in grand tours, it’s Thymen Arensman. The Dutch rider from INEOS Grenadiers is only 24 years old, but is already starting his seventh grand tour. For the second consecutive year, he starts as the deputy leader behind Geraint Thomas at the Giro d'Italia.
Arensman performs reliably, having finished sixth in the classification last season—a position he had already achieved the year before in the Vuelta. This season he started strongly in the Algarve and Tirreno-Adriatico, and after an altitude camp and the Tour de Romandie, all signs point to another strong performance in Italy.
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