Vincenzo Nibali praises 'innovative' 2027 Giro d'Italia route and says Paul Seixas 'would do well to participate'

Former Giro d'Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali has said that next year's route is one where Tadej Pogačar would be "the clear favourite" but that Paul Seixas is also ready to fight for the pink jersey.

The 2027 Giro route, which was unveiled on Tuesday, packs in the climbing and an uphill time trial on a difficult course that organisers RCS will hope can attract some of the peloton's top GC riders.

Giving his assessment to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Nibali – who won the pink jersey twice in 2013 and 2016 – praised the route and the slight changes made for 2027.

"It's a modern Giro, one that continues to innovate while not losing its ties to tradition," he said. "I spoke about it with [new race director] Luca Guercilena, maybe there's no longer a hat-trick of horrible stages, but the difficulties are more evenly distributed, and that's certainly a good thing."

The question of how the race plays out, however, will also be largely down to who decides to race, which we don't know much about just yet, but Nibali thinks the route would be perfect for the sport's biggest stars.

"Pogačar, if he came, would be the clear favorite. I think the route is very suitable for [Jonas] Vingegaard, too. It would be a good challenge for [Remco] Evenepoel," he said.

"And Seixas, after finishing fourth in the Tour on his debut, would do well to participate. I saw him in person at Il Lombardia and he impressed me, I think he's ready to fight for the win. He climbs very quickly and is no slouch in the time trials, far from it... I read that he's interested in coming, and it's no coincidence."

Whilst RCS, Nibali and many fans might hope to see Pogačar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel all line up for the Giro, the actuality seems unlikely, with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe boss Ralph Denk already saying he's against the idea of Evenepoel doing the double with the Tour, and Pogačar more likely to target the Vuelta if he does a second Grand Tour in 2027.

As defending champion, Vingegaard could well opt to return and chase another pink jersey, whilst there are plenty of reasons why Paul Seixas might, surprisingly, opt for the Giro over the Tour next year.

Read more: Why Paul Seixas might not immediately return to the Tour de France in 2027

The hope of attracting international stars may be big, but the Giro can also count on a talented crop of home riders to battle for success in the race that no Italian has won since Nibali himself 10 years ago.

"[Giulio] Pellizzari, [Davide] Piganzoli, [Giulio] Ciccone: in a Giro like this, they'll have plenty of room to express themselves," Nibali said. Pellizzari has plenty of time to fix some lapses, Piganzoli is growing rapidly, and Ciccone will find further motivation from the change of team. They need to believe in it."

And in terms of the decisive stages, the monstrous stages 16 and 20 are of course at the top of Nibali's list, but he predicts the race would be open until the very end, such is the balanced design of the route.

"The Valtellina stage [16] is brutal. There's 5,700 metres of elevation gain, so even the thought of climbing it is difficult," he said. "And it's historic, because the Gavia Pass, in the middle of a double Mortirolo, on the toughest side, has never been seen before. A brutal, potentially decisive day.

"And then before the Zoncolan, I wouldn't underestimate the Madonna di Campiglio climb [on stage 18]. In short, you can't make a mistake in the final week. And with the Zoncolan on the penultimate day, the race could remain open until the end. Maybe someone could ride a bit 'conservatively', relatively speaking, and go all out on the Zoncolan."

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