Eddy Merckx has called on Chris Froome to ride the Giro d’Italia in 2018 and emulate his achievement of holding all three Grand Tour titles at the same time. Merckx won the Giro-Tour double in 1972 and then won the Vuelta a España the following year, while Bernard Hinault won the three Grand Tours in the same sequence in 1982-83.
Froome won his fourth Tour de France in July and then added a maiden Vuelta victory in September. Although the Sky rider has said winning a record-equalling fifth Tour is his priority in 2018, he has not ruled out the idea of tackling the Giro.
“Froome would do well to come to the Giro next year. In fact, being a champion, he has to come, even if he has a fifth Tour win in mind,” Merckx told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “And if Dumoulin is there too, it will be a beautiful duel. I don’t know who would win.”
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In 2017, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) attempted the Giro-Tour double but fell short both in Italy, where he placed second to Dumoulin, and France, where he could only manage 12th overall. Quintana’s fatigue during the Tour led many to question whether attempting a Grand Tour double was still feasible, though Froome’s subsequent Tour-Vuelta combination provided something of a counter-argument.
“For a rider like Froome, I say it is [possible]. He showed it this year with the Tour-Vuelta double,” said Merckx, who was speaking at the Castello d’Oro awards ceremony in Valdengo. “He has the mentality and the motivation to achieve the feat – or at least to try it.”
Giro director Mauro Vegni has made several public overtures to Froome in recent months, telling Cyclingnews in September that the Briton could “make history” by winning the corsa rosa.
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