Nibali crowns the 2027 Giro: "A modern and innovative route, Pogačar would be the favorite. And Seixas would be wise to come."

Vincenzo Nibali has won over the 2027 Giro d'Italia. The two-time winner of the Giro d'Italia (2013 and 2016) gave full marks to the route unveiled Tuesday, a design packed with climbs and a mountain time trial, designed by RCS to attract the best GC riders in the peloton. According to Nibali, it's a route where Tadej Pogačar is "the clear favorite," but where Paul Seixas can also fight for the pink jersey.

Interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport , Nibali praised the route and the small tweaks introduced for 2027: "It's a modern Giro, which continues to innovate without losing its ties to tradition." He continued: "I spoke about it with the new race director Luca Guercilena: perhaps there is no longer the trio of horrible stages, but the difficulties are distributed more evenly, and this is certainly a good thing."

Much will depend, of course, on who decides to show up at the start, a topic on which there's very little certainty for now. Nibali, however, is convinced that the route is perfect for the current greatest champions. "Pogačar, if he were to come, would be the big favorite. I think the route is also very suitable for [Jonas] Vingegaard. It would also be a great challenge for [Remco] Evenepoel."

The most interesting chapter, especially for those who play fantasy cycling, concerns Seixas. "After finishing fourth in the Tour on his debut, he would be wise to participate," explained Nibali. "I saw him live at the Giro di Lombardia and he impressed me: I think he's ready to fight for the win. He climbs very quickly and is not bad at all in the time trial, in fact... I read that he's interested in coming, and that's no coincidence."

On paper, however, seeing Pogačar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel all together at the start seems unlikely. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe boss Ralph Denk has already expressed his opposition to the idea of ​​a Giro-Tour double for Evenepoel, while Pogačar, should he compete in a second Grand Tour in 2027, seems more inclined to race the Vuelta. Vingegaard, as the reigning champion, could instead return to the hunt for another pink jersey, and there's no shortage of reasons why Seixas might surprisingly choose the Giro over the Tour.

The Giro can also count on a strong contingent of local talent, in a race no Italian has won since Nibali ten years ago. "[Giulio] Pellizzari, [Davide] Piganzoli, [Giulio] Ciccone: in a Giro like this, they'll have plenty of room to express themselves," said the Shark. "Pellizzari has plenty of time to correct some of his weaknesses, Piganzoli is growing rapidly, and Ciccone will find new motivation from the change of team. They have to believe in it."

As for the decisive stages, the most monstrous ones, the 16th and 20th, are obviously at the top of Nibali's list, but he foresees a race that will be open until the very end, thanks to the balanced design of the route. "The Valtellina stage [16] is brutal: there are 5,700 meters of elevation gain, just thinking about climbing it is difficult," he said. "And it is historic, because the Gavia Pass in the middle of a double Mortirolo, on the toughest side, had never been seen before. A brutal and potentially decisive day."

And again: "Before the Zoncolan, I wouldn't underestimate the Madonna di Campiglio climb [on stage 18]. In short, you can't make any mistakes in the final week. And with the Zoncolan on the penultimate day, the race could stay open until the end. Perhaps someone could ride a little 'conservatively,' relatively speaking, and then give it their all on the Zoncolan."