'I’ll do a bit less with Tadej Pogačar and more for myself': Davide Formolo hopes to be 100% for Giro d'Italia
The former Italian road race champion wants to be going for victories more in 2022
Davide Formolo says that he'll "do a bit less with Tadej Pogačar" and more for himself as he looks at taking a leading role within the team.
Formolo has ridden as a key domestique for Pogačar over the last two Tours de France with the Italian climber helping the Slovenian star to two yellow jerseys on the bounce, however, it will be more about the Giro d'Italia in 2022.
The 29-year-old has laid out a plan that would see him be in peak fitness for the Giro and a chance to go for his own objectives.
In an interview with CyclingNews, Formolo said: "I shouldn’t be doing the Tour next year, I’ll be concentrating on the Giro.
"The plan is to only do the Giro so I’ll be more focused. After the crash this year, I was already thinking about the Tour by the last week. Next year, I wanted to be 100 per cent focused on the Giro."
This was surprising news as it was assumed that UAE Team Emirates new signing for 2022, João Almeida who is joining the team from Deceuninck - Quick-Step, would be the general classification leader for the squad at the Italian Grand Tour.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"I’ll play my own cards more next year, so we wanted to try this. I’ll do a bit less with Tadej and more for myself, so we’ll have different preparation," he added.
Formolo has shown that he can perform in the hilly one-day races such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Strade Bianche, finishing second in both over 2019 and 2020. But the former Italian champion is unsure as to whether he will ever be good enough to try and win a Grand Tour.
"For the big Classics, I certainly feel ready enough to say I’m capable of winning them. For the Grand Tours, some more water probably needs to pass under the bridge.
"I need a bit of time and maybe the moment will never come. Right now, I don’t feel ready to say that I can go to a Grand Tour to win it, but I can go there trying to be in the top-10 or maybe the top-7 or so if everything goes well. But there are a lot of unpredictable things that can happen."
Formolo has managed to finish in the top 10 of the Giro twice in 2017 and 2018 as well as ninth at the Vuelta a España in 2016, so a top seven is not out of the question.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!
I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.
It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.
After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.
When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.
My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.
-
Is Lotte Kopecky's bog-standard Specialized Crux proof that you don't need wide tires and fancy suspension systems for gravel racing?
Kopecky finished second at Gravel Worlds on a bike with minimal modifications
By Joe Baker Published
-
Undercover Mechanic: Cyclists have become very excited about aerodynamics without a correlated excitement for pilates - the result is a lot of spacers
90% of the front area is you, not the bike; having a kamtail downtube will make sod all difference if you’re unable to reach the bars, argues CW’s Undercover Mechanic
By Undercover Mechanic Published
-
Is this the £17,000 bike that will carry Tadej Pogačar to the rainbow jersey?
Colnago launch special edition V4RS Tadej ahead of the elite men’s road race at the World Championships
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Spotted: Tadej Pogačar running prototype Enve TT bars, which have seen UAE net time trial podiums all season
A development project, the extensions are not yet commercially available, but Enve says it’s ‘excited by the results and believe the initial goals have been achieved’
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
'There are serious implications' - Tadej Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates face sanctions threat
Growing pressure on Western governments to sanction UAE over Russia could spell trouble for Tadej Pogačar's team
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
UAE Emirates rider Alexys Brunel retires from professional cycling at 23
The young French rider is leaving the sport to focus on other challenges in life
By Ryan Dabbs Published
-
Tadej Pogačar returns to training after contracting covid
UAE Team Emirates say that Slovenian is still on track to make season debut at UAE Tour
By Adam Becket Published
-
Matteo Trentin: Roads are 'more of a jungle than a proper training environment'
Italian says that more needs to be done for cycling safety to protect the future of the sport
By Adam Becket Published
-
What did we learn from the first elite road races of the year?
Alejandro Valverde is still good; Lotto-Soudal are hungry for results; Biniam Girmay might be a force to be reckoned with