Giro d’Italia 2023: the Possibilities of Latin Americans in this Competition

There is little left for the start of a new edition of the Giro d'Italia, the first grand tour of this 2023 and which promises great emotions at each stage. For this race, Latin America will be represented by six cyclists, four of whom are Colombian, one Ecuadorian, and one Argentine.

Unlike other editions of the Giro d'Italia, this side of the world does not have big favorites to win the Maglia Rosa. However, there are cyclists who could surprise and fight for a place on the podium or for a distinctive jersey in contention. It should be remembered that this competition distinguishes the leader of the general classification (Maglia Rosa), points classification (Maglia Ciclamino), mountains classification (Maglia Azurra), youth classification (Maglia Bianca) and team classification.

Team Classification

This is perhaps the classification in which the chances of Latin Americans are highest , since among the favorites to win are: EF Education First, which includes the Colombian Rigoberto Urán and the Ecuadorian Jonathan Caicedo, and Movistar Team, a team in which there are the Colombians Fernando Gaviria and Einer Rubio.

This classification takes into account the accumulated times of all the members of the participating teams. The squad that accumulates less time at the end of each stage will be the leader.

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Mountain Classification

During the mountain stages, which are divided into categories that go from the most difficult to the least difficult based on inclination and length, there are passes for specialist cyclists who award points depending on the position in which they cross. The winner of this classification will be the one who scores the most points during the 21 stages.

Santiago Buitrago, who will ride for Team Bahrain Victorious, is a great climber and has already won a high-mountain stage in the 2022 Giro d'Italia, so he could fight for the Maglia Azurra. Likewise, Einer Rubio, from the Movistar Team, is also classified as a climber and could be the protagonist in the mountain stages.

Youth Classification

In the Giro d'Italia, the Maglia Bianca can be used by cyclists up to 25 years of age. For this reason, Einer Rubio, 25 years old, and Santiago Buitrago, 23 years old, can compete in this classification. In addition, the Bahrain cyclist is a great favorite to obtain the title of best young man in the 2023 Giro, a jersey that Rigoberto Urán, Carlos Betancur, Nairo Quintana, Miguel Ángel López and the last one in 2021, Egan Bernal, have already won.

General Ranking

Among the favorites to obtain the title of champion of the Giro d'Italia 2023 there is no Latin American. However, there may be surprises in the first places, among them the name of Rigoberto Urán may appear, who was on the podium of this race twice and will run this great tour for the seventh time.

Fernando Gaviria could be another pleasant surprise in the race, since he is the leader of the Movistar Team and will have the support of his teammates to be in the best possible position. Although, his forte is not the mountain stages that usually determine the favorites ahead get the Maglia Rosa. The big favorites are Remco Evenepoel, Primož Roglič, Gerain Thomas, Tago Geoghegan Hart, Joao Almeida, Alexander Vlasov, Jay Vine and Damiano Caruso.

Despite the fact that there are no great Latin Americans to obtain the title or any jersey, there are possibilities that a cyclist will obtain one of the 21 stages to be played. Fernando Gaviria could surprise in flat stages or with flat finishes, as he is one of the best sprinters in the world, in time trials and climbs. The Ecuadorian Jonathan Caicedo could have the victory as he did in 2020 and for stages with mountains there are the Colombians Santiago Buitrago, Rigoberto Urán and Einer Rubio. Nicolás Tivani, a Team Corratec cyclist, is perhaps not a favorite for any stage, but he hopes to have a great Giro.