Giro, Tour, Vuelta: Here’s who is riding which grand tour in 2022

Everyone likes to have their diary in order and up-to-date, right?

That’s why teams have already sketched out which of their top racers will start the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a Espana this year.

From heavyweight trio Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, and Egan Bernal to close contenders Miguel Angel Lopez, Enric Mas, and Thibaut Pinot, the biggest names have laid out their plans and are tweaking their training in anticipation of 2022 grand tour racing.

So here’s who’s racing where in 2022, and a dig into what it all means:

Giro d'Italia:

• Richard Carapaz, Richie Porte, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers)

• Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco)

• Tom Dumoulin, Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma)

• Miguel Angel Lopez, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Qazaqstan)

• Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates)

• Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious)

• Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)

• Giulio Ciccone, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)

Tour de France:

• Tadej Pogacar, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates)

• Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard, Steven Kruijswijk, Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma)

• Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers)

• Thibaut Pinot, David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ)

• Miguel Angel Lopez, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Qazaqstan)

• Enric Mas (Movistar)

• Mikel Landa, Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious)

• Giulio Ciccone, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)

• Ben O'Connor (Ag2r-Citroen)

Vuelta a Espana:

• Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma)

• Tadej Pogacar, Joao Almeida, Marc Soler, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates)

• Enric Mas, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)

• Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl)

• Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic)

Tour de France remains kingmaker

Roglic, Pogacar, Bernal, Lopez, and Mas already confirmed for France? That says it all.

As always, it's the big-budget, big-hype, history-making Tour de France that sits in the center of any established GC rider's calendar in 2022.

The Tour is the race every GC guy wants to win, and the race every GC guy needs to win in order to guarantee a slot in the history books.

A rider like Roglic will forever be put into the shade by Pogacar until he wins a yellow jersey, even despite his Vuelta triple. Bernal’s place in the GC hierarchy won’t be secure until he backs up his win in the storm-shortened 2019 Tour with a yellow jersey secured in a race without “what-ifs”.

It gets the world’s attention, the sponsors stoked, and packs a prize purse like no other. The Tour carries a lot of weight, and that’s why all the top leaders and strongest squads are set to be there.

Jumbo-Visma moved first this week by announcing the skeleton of an almost intimidating Tour eight as it stacks its chips into its quest to win the maillot jaune. Ineos Grenadiers and UAE Team Emirates will do the same in investing big-time in July, with riders such as Geraint Thomas, Richard Carapaz, and George Bennett likely to roll out of Copenhagen this summer.

Also read: Jumbo-Visma to bring all its arsenal to the 2022 Tour

The Tour brings fame, brings fortune, and in 2022 like in every other year, it brings fat start lists.

Giro d'Italia is the race for the connoisseur

It’s in a tricky spot on the calendar, it’s fiendishly hard, and it could screw up a whole season. But the romantic allure of the Giro d’Italia still pulls those that suit such punishment.

Anyone with serious eyes on the Tour de France won’t race in Italy this May because the turnaround between the two races is so tight. That’s why the Giro start list is currently full of those elbowing for space below the “big three” in the world of GC.

Now that there are just five weeks between the Giro and the Tour, a push for pink in Italy leaves a rider at risk of losing their legs in France and coming up short in the biggest race in the world.

And a heavy fall on Italian tarmac? Game over for the Tour, and maybe much longer.

The Giro-Tour double is so laden with fatigue and the chance of misfortune that no rider has pulled it off since Marco Pantani in 1998. Riders such as Bernal and the Slovenian supremos aren’t even thinking about it in 2022, and it’s not likely anyone will be conquering the elusive double this year.

Also read:

• The Giro-Tour double: Cycling’s elusive feat

• Why Dumoulin chose the Giro in 2022

But for some, the Giro just “works”. Some favor its cooler climate and early slot in the season. Riders such as Yates and Landa like the crushing amount of climbing, and the Brit rates it so highly he’s tipped to be going back for his fifth in a row in 2022.

And of course, when the biggest names are going full-tilt for the Tour, the Giro marks an opportunity.

Could Almeida, Yates or Lopez beat Pogacar or Roglic at the Tour? Maybe not.

Could they win the Giro while the Slovenians are high up in their pre-Tour altitude camps? They sure could.

Vuelta a Espana for last chances and new contenders

It’s the last chance saloon and the new stars’ sparring ground all at once.

The Vuelta’s late-season slot gives it two winning aces. Being toward the end of the calendar makes the Vuelta the perfect three-weeker for riders looking to rescue a year gone wrong, and being out of the high-summer spotlight means newbies have a chance to make a name for themselves on Spanish soil.

For riders like Remco Evenepoel, Sepp Kuss, and Brandon McNulty - younger racers who can go far in GC but maybe can’t win over three weeks just yet - the Vuelta’s laid-back vibes and reduced pressure offers opportunities and openings.

Also read: McNulty hoping to find opportunities in Vuelta debut

And at the other end of the spectrum, the Giro-Tour double’s loss in the Tour-Vuelta’s gain.

For top-flight GC racers, there’s just enough time between the Tour and the Vuelta to be recovered and ready to attempt the Franco-Spanish double. And giving it a go is a win-win. If you’ve taken victory at the Tour, there’s not much to lose by trying for the maillot rojo. As Roglic knows all too well, if the Tour went awry, there’s salvation to be had in Spain.

Both Roglic and Pogacar have already put their names down for the Tour-Vuelta double, and as the season becomes clearer, don’t be surprised to see a whole lot more do the same.