Road to Paris 2024: Italian Cyclist Declares Tour de France ‘Too Bad To Miss,’ Aims for Two Gold Medals at Summer Olympics

This year Olympic hopefuls have a lot on their plates as they compete for trial spots, grab the final few tickets, and hone their skills. Amid the turmoil of athletes rushing to be a part of the largest sporting event on the globe—the Paris Olympics 2024—Tour de France Grand Départ is scheduled in Italy this year. This placed the Italian cyclists in a difficult situation where they had to decide between pursuing their national goals, all while waiting years for the Games.

Now, a 27-year-old has chosen to forego the Grande Boucle in an attempt to leave Paris with two gold medals. His Olympic pursuits go beyond participation aiming most, two gold medals from the fashion capital which he shares in his recent interview.

Paris Olympics 2024 dreams over anything

Filippo Ganna, a rider for INEOS Grenadiers and the son of former Italian Olympic sprint canoer Marco Ganna, told VELO that he is determined to defend his Olympic gold in the team pursuit in the Summer Olympics and hopes to win another gold in the individual time trial. The nine-time medallist at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships acknowledged that finding the ideal balance for his schedule wasn’t simple, but the benefits could be worthwhile.

“It’s too bad to miss the Tour de France in Italy this year, but the Olympics are the Olympics,” Ganna remarked.  The former world champion intends to participate in the Giro d’Italia in May, following a similar race calendar like he did before the Tokyo Olympics. He said, “With the big goals of the Olympics, I want to try to win again in the Giro to give a big morale before Paris.”

The Italian cyclist started this year with several races in Australia and will be part of his first race in Europe in February. Throughout his remarkable career, he has set world hour records, won gold in team pursuit, taken home six world crowns in solo pursuit, and amassed an increasing number of road honors.

Filippo Ganna shares plan for future

Ganna was clear on keeping himself occupied in the upcoming years of his professional career. With already 28 professional victories in his portfolio, the Italian continues to add to his to-cycle list and said, “I want to try to arrive in the spring classics and to change my ambition year by year.”

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He shared “This year we are hoping to arrive in the best condition for the Games. Last year I was close at Roubaix with sixth, so I will need to improve to another level to try to win. In the future I would like to come back to Paris-Roubaix with the ambition to win.” 

Excitement, difficulties, and a motivated Italian rider Filippo Ganna aiming to add two gold medals to his outstanding collection are now all part of the route to Paris 2024.

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