Filippo Ganna will start his 2020 campaign at the Vuelta a San Juan wearing Italian National Team blue instead of his usual Team Ineos, although when and where he will wear Maria Azzurra in Tokyo in late July/early August remains to be seen. but it is fitting for an Olympic year.

As the locomotive of Italy's burgeoning Team Pursuit, Ganna has spent the last four years trying to make a mark on the track for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But after winning a bronze medal in the time trial at the World Championships in Yorkshire last September, Ganna began to seriously consider road racing in Japan as well.

Ganna has options. For now, all he knows is that any decision will be postponed until after his Giro d'Italia debut in May, when the countdown to Tokyo begins in earnest.

"I haven't decided yet. I will definitely wait until the Giro and see what my condition is like at that point. Once the Giro is over and I know how my condition is, I will decide whether I will focus on one of the events or both," Gana told Cycling News.

In November, buoyed by her world record in the individual pursuit and her bronze medal in Yorkshire, Ganna told La Gazzetta dello Sport that she intends to compete in both the time trial and team pursuit in Japan. [Italian road coach Davide Cassani, however, suggested at the beginning of the year that Ganna might consider focusing on track events, as the time trial course is hilly and it is very complicated to cram two different events into a tight schedule. The men's time trial will take place on Wednesday, July 29 (athletes must also be selected for the national team for the road race on Saturday, July 25), and the men's team pursuit qualifier will take place on Monday, August 3.

"I'd like to do both, but logistically, if I'm not fit enough, I can't, so I'll wait until after the Giro. After that, I'll decide what to do," Ganna said. [Once the Giro is over, there are two months until the Olympics. During that time, I will have time and room to do concrete work for the track and regain the strength I need for the starts, etc."

Ganna is one of the leading contenders for Tuesday's 15.1km time trial, but his race schedule after the Vuelta a San Juan is still only broadly drawn. At this point, the only certainties on his schedule are the track world championships and the Giro in Berlin in late February.

In Berlin, Ganna, who is seeking his fourth rainbow jersey in the individual pursuit, will be the overwhelming favorite, having shaved the world record to 4:02.647 at the World Cup in Minsk in November.

While he laments that the discipline is off the Olympic program, smiling that "it's probably overkill since we have three specialty events," the Berlin World Championships will be an opportunity for the Italian quartet to confirm their place in the Team Pursuit universe. The Berlin World Championships are also an opportunity for the Italian quartet to confirm their place in the Team Pursuit universe.

The Azzurri were bronze medalists in 2017 and 2018 and European silver medalists a year ago. Now, six months after Tokyo, they seem to be in a four-way battle with Australia, Denmark, and Great Britain for the three podium spots. Some countries have improved dramatically in the months between the World Championships and the Olympics.

"It's still a big question mark, but we need to stay focused on what we're doing. We must not lose focus." We must not lose sight of our purpose."

Whatever the final schedule in Japan, 2020 marks the end of a cycle for Ganna. His decision to move to Ineos last season was largely based on the experience of his compatriot Elia Viviani, who was given the freedom to combine road and track during his time with the team and won gold in the omnium at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Ineos has given Ganna similar freedom in designing his approach to Tokyo, but the 23-year-old has a heavier hand in determining his race schedule, which may nudge him toward exploring his potential as a stage racer in 2021, He knows a trade-off is coming.

"It's a very good partnership," Ineos said. I'm going to focus a little more on the road and racing with the team next season."