Last year he wore it for a long stretch, but in reality it always belonged to Isaac Del Toro, who at the time was in the Maglia Rosa. This year, Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) is determined to carry the Maglia Bianca all the way to Camerino, his hometown. Looking at the start list, the rider from the Marche region stands out as the overwhelming favorite to claim the best young rider classification, reserved for those born after 1 January 2001.

The former Bardiani rider is, on paper, the only one with genuine GC ambitions, while most of his rivals are more likely to target stage wins or work in support of their team leaders. Mathys Rondel (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) is a highly skilled climber, having finished 8th at Paris–Nice and 5th at the Tour of the Alps – won, notably, by Pellizzari – but he’s making his Grand Tour debut, and no one expects him to ride for the general classification, especially with team duties centered around Michael Storer.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG, entering the race without João Almeida, bring three highly talented U25 riders: Jan Christen, António Morgado, and Igor Arrieta, but none are targeting the GC. They could feature in the jersey standings for a few days, but they are unlikely to hold their own deep into the high mountains.

Not only Pellizzari: the favorites for the Maglia Bianca

Davide Piganzoli (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) has the engine to ride a strong GC, but he’ll likely sacrifice his chances in service of a bigger goal: helping Jonas Vingegaard win the Giro. The same domestique role will fall to Magnus Sheffield and Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Ineos Grenadiers), working for Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman.

Alessandro Pinarello (Novo Nordisk Cycling Team) has shown strong early-season form, with a top-10 finish at Tirreno–Adriatico and a podium at O Gran Camiño, but he has already stated his intention to go stage hunting rather than chase GC. The same applies to several promising Italian climbers: Simone Gualdi (Lotto-Dstny), Ludovico Crescioli (Polti VisitMalta), winner of the Giro dell’Appennino, Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), returning after two months out with a knee issue, Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain Victorious), and Filippo Turconi (Bardiani CSF Faizanè).

Finally, a few dark horses could also enter the mix: Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), winner of the 2023 Giro Next Gen but still finding his footing at WorldTour level, Brieuc Rolland (Groupama-FDJ), Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost), and Johannes Kulset (Uno-X Mobility).