The battle between Chris Froome, Tom Dumoulin and Fabio Aru for the maglia rosa at the 101st Giro d'Italia is likely to take centre stage during the three weeks of racing, but as ever, there will be no shortage of sub-plots, break through performances and drama at the corsa rosa.
In this year’s route, there is a paucity of clear-cut opportunities for the sprinters, and as a result a relatively diminished sprint field, which could open the door to more breakaways and the finisseurs.
In this Giro d'Italia coundown feature, Cyclingnews looks beyond the maglia rosa contenders and examines the riders who will be in the hunt for stage wins - whether on the flat, the rolling terrain, or in the mountains - and also some of the lesser-known riders who are set to play a key role in determining the outcome of the overall title.
ADVERTISEMENT
Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors)
With relatively little flat ground on the route of the 2018 Giro d'Italia, the field of sprinters is relatively shallow compared to recent years. The one name on the start lists who stands out above all others, both in terms of status and form, is Elia Viviani, who's riding his first Grand Tour for Quick-Step Floors.
What a difference a change of team makes. This time last year Viviani was licking his wounds after missing out on selection for Sky's squad for the Giro - the 100th Giro no less. Twelve months on and Viviani is not only here but here as leader, with actual lead-out men, not to mention with six wins already in his jersey pocket.
Viviani is not just the most successful sprinter of those on the Giro start list, but also arguably of the entire pro peloton. With five victories - six if you count the GC at the Dubai Tour - he is only matched by Dylan Groenewegen, and even if Jakub Mareczko (we'll get to him later) has more, Viviani's are certainly of higher calibre.
Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates)
Wout Poels (Team Sky)
Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe)
Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal)
Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo)
Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb)
Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina)
Ben O'Connor (Dimension Data)
Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy)
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/giro-ditalia-10-non-gc-riders-to-watch
No comments:
Post a Comment