Pavel Sivakov: I wouldn't be at the Giro d'Italia if I didn't dream about winning it

Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers)
Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Deflection is so often the default setting for a rider in a pre-race press conference, which makes Pavel Sivakov’s frank appraisal of his Giro d’Italia aspirations all the more striking. Egan Bernal wears number one on his back and sets out from Turin as Ineos’ leading option, but Sivakov has the freedom to nurture lofty general classification ambitions of his own and he sees no reason to hide them. 

Anything can happen over three weeks in Italy and sometimes it does. Last October, after all, Tao Geoghegan Hart left Palermo as Geraint Thomas’ domestique and arrived in Milan 23 days later as a most unexpected Giro champion. Sivakov, sixth at the recent Tour of the Alps, admitted that he had visualised the prospect of contesting the pink jersey in the third week.

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Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.