Jonas Vingegaard will make his Giro d'Italia debut on Friday when he begins his bid to win both the Italian Grand Tour and the Tour de France in the same year, thus emulating his great rival Tadej Pogacar.

Already a two-time Tour de France winner, Vingegaard is the clear favorite for the Giro d'Italia, with Pogacar sitting out this year's edition, and the Dane has been in great form this season.

Jonas Vingegaard Targets Giro d'Italia And Tour de France Double

The 29-year-old, who rides for Visma-Lease a Bike, has won two prestigious stage races in Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya this year, and his powerful climbing abilities are ideally suited to a typically tough route over three weeks.

Vingegaard is also aiming to become just the eighth man to complete the triple crown of the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España, one of the few feats that Pogacar is yet to accomplish.

Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome are the seven riders to have won all three Grand Tours.

When asked by the Gazzetta dello Sport whether winning all three Grand Tours before Pogacar was a source of motivation, Vingegaard simply said "no".

"Completing the treble is a goal for me and that's it, because it would mean making a little bit of history," said Vingegaard in an interview published on Wednesday.

"He'll do it eventually, it's just a matter of time. Tadej might be the best ever, but I've beaten him before and I'm confident I can do it again."

Vingegaard is the top name in a strong field that will be missing the entire podium from last year's thrilling edition won by Simon Yates, who retired in January.

Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates teammate Isaac Del Toro, who conceded what would have been a first Grand Tour win to Yates in the penultimate stage, is sitting out the Giro d'Italia this year in order to make his Tour de France debut.

Giulio Pellizzari Leads Italian Hopes At Giro d'Italia

Richard Carapaz, meanwhile, is still recovering from surgery to remove a perineal cyst and will not take part in a race in which the first three stages will be held in Bulgaria, with the finish in Rome on May 31 after 3,468km of racing.

João Almeida is also out of action with a viral infection, meaning Adam Yates and Jay Vine will lead UAE Team Emirates' bid in Del Toro and Pogacar's absence.

The peloton will take on a punishing trip around Italy that contains seven summit finishes and an intriguing individual time trial on stage 10, a 40.2km ride along the Tuscan coast that could prove crucial.

"I think the Giro is more unpredictable. You need to be ready every day because more than in other races you can find surprises anywhere," Vingegaard told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Another surprise for Vingegaard could come in the shape of Giulio Pellizzari, the Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe leader, who on home turf will give hope to Italian fans that one of their own will win a Grand Tour for the first time since Nibali's 2016 Giro d'Italia victory.

Pellizzari was sixth in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España last season, and one of the sport's most promising young climbers seems to have taken another step forward this year.

The 22-year-old warmed up for the Giro d'Italia with his first stage race win at last month's Tour of the Alps, and he finished third in both Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana earlier this year.

"From June 1 last year, when the Giro finished, I started to think about the next one because I already wanted to come back for more," Pellizzari said recently.

Pellizzari, who has 2022 winner Jai Hindley on his team, is probably the best hope for this year's Giro d'Italia not becoming a one-man show for history-hunter Vingegaard.